The crisis within the Jigawa State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has persisted despite an intervention by the party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to reconcile the two factions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Atiku reportedly presided over a reconciliation meeting on Tuesday night involving the ADC governorship candidate in Jigawa State, Senator Sabo Mohammed Nakudu, and a former governorship aspirant, Hon. Bashir Adamu Jimbo, where he called for unity and cooperation among party members.
However, fresh disagreement has emerged over claims about the outcome of the meeting, particularly regarding pending court cases, the party’s candidate list, and the status quo.
In a statement made available to journalists in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, Nakudu’s Head of Media/Publicity, Comrade Mati Ali, said the governorship candidate had reaffirmed Atiku’s position on unity, reconciliation, and cooperation.
According to the statement, Nakudu described Atiku’s published account of the meeting as the authoritative position on the reconciliation effort.
Atiku was quoted as saying, ‘Today, we have chosen unity over division and cooperation over acrimony.’
He reportedly added, ‘The contest is behind us. The task ahead is greater than any individual ambition.’
The statement, however, disputed reports attributed to an ADC stalwart, Ali Tukur Gantsa, which reportedly referred to court cases, the candidate list, and maintaining the status quo.
It maintained that those issues were not contained in Atiku’s published statement on the reconciliation meeting.
The statement therefore urged the media and members of the public to attribute such claims to their sources rather than to the ADC presidential candidate.
It further clarified that Gantsa was not part of the substantive reconciliation meeting involving Atiku, Nakudu, and Jimbo.
According to the statement, his appearance in a wider group photograph did not establish that he participated in the discussions.
Nakudu, it said, welcomed Atiku’s intervention and reiterated his commitment to reconciliation, party unity, mutual respect, and cooperation among members.
The statement added that the clarification was intended to protect the integrity of the public record and prevent Atiku’s position from being conflated with subsequent accounts of the reconciliation meeting.