Few states have tested Nigeria’s election rules as hard as Adamawa. In the Fourth Republic it has seen a governor-elect become Vice-President before taking office, a governorship election annulled and rerun, a governor impeached, a deputy governor installed by court order and, in April 2023, a returning officer’s superior announce a winner he had no power to declare. Through all of it the governorship stayed mostly with the PDP, with one four-year break for the APC.
1999: Atiku’s ticket, Haruna’s office
The PDP’s 1999 governorship candidate was Atiku Abubakar, a former customs officer and businessman. The ticket won the January 1999 election with 329,595 votes against 283,863 for Bala Takaya of the All People’s Party. Weeks later Olusegun Obasanjo chose Atiku as his presidential running mate, so the deputy governor-elect, Boni Haruna, was sworn in as governor in May 1999. Haruna was re-elected in April 2003 with about 375,000 votes (68.6%), beating the ANPP’s Adamu Modibbo.
2007 and 2008: Nyako, annulment and rerun
Retired admiral Murtala Nyako won the April 2007 election for the PDP with 336,892 votes against 86,684 for Joel Madaki of the Labour Party. The election tribunal annulled the result, and Nyako won the rerun on 26 April 2008 against Madaki, now of the Action Congress. The rerun mattered later: in January 2012 the Supreme Court ruled that governors who won reruns after annulments must count their four years from their first oath in 2007, not from the rerun. Nyako and four other governors had to leave office early, and Adamawa voted again on 4 February 2012. Nyako won a second term with 302,953 votes to 241,023 for the ACN’s Markus Gundiri.
2014: impeachment and a court-ordered successor
In 2013 Nyako was one of the PDP governors who defected to the new APC. On 15 July 2014 the PDP-controlled House of Assembly impeached him on allegations of financial misconduct. Speaker Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri acted as governor for nearly three months, because the deputy governor, Bala James Ngilari, had resigned shortly before the impeachment. A court later ruled that Ngilari’s resignation letter had not been properly submitted, and he was sworn in as governor in October 2014. A by-election planned for October 2014 was cancelled, and he served out the term.
2015: the APC’s only win
Riding the APC wave of 2015, Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla (Bindow) won the April election with 362,329 votes. Markus Gundiri, now in the SDP, came second with 181,806, and the PDP’s candidate, former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu, a distant third.
2019: Fintiri unseats Bindow
Fintiri returned as the PDP candidate in 2019. The first round on 9 March was inconclusive, and a supplementary election followed. On 28 March INEC declared Fintiri the winner with 376,552 votes against Bindow’s 336,386. Bindow became one of several first-term APC governors to lose that year.
2023: the Binani declaration
The 2023 race was the closest in the state’s history. The APC candidate, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, popularly called Binani, was bidding to become Nigeria’s first elected female governor. After the 18 March vote INEC declared the election inconclusive, and a supplementary poll was held on 15 April 2023.
Early the next morning, while collation was still going on, the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Ari, walked into the collation centre and announced Binani as the winner. Resident commissioners have no power to declare results, and Ari gave no figures. INEC headquarters in Abuja called the declaration null and void and suspended collation. When it resumed, the returning officer declared Fintiri re-elected on 18 April with 430,861 votes (50.5%) against Binani’s 398,788 (46.7%). INEC suspended Ari and moved to prosecute him, though a court halted the case in July 2023. In October 2023 the election tribunal dismissed Binani’s petition and upheld Fintiri’s victory.
The results at a glance
| Year | Winner (party) | Votes | Runner-up (party) | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Atiku Abubakar / Boni Haruna (PDP) | 329,595 | Bala Takaya (APP) | 283,863 |
| 2003 | Boni Haruna (PDP) | about 375,000 | Adamu Modibbo (ANPP) | not published |
| 2007 | Murtala Nyako (PDP) | 336,892 | Joel Madaki (LP) | 86,684 |
| 2012 | Murtala Nyako (PDP) | 302,953 | Markus Gundiri (ACN) | 241,023 |
| 2015 | Bindo Jibrilla (APC) | 362,329 | Markus Gundiri (SDP) | 181,806 |
| 2019 | Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (PDP) | 376,552 | Bindo Jibrilla (APC) | 336,386 |
| 2023 | Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (PDP) | 430,861 | Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (APC) | 398,788 |
The 2008 rerun figures were not published in a form we can verify. If you have the official INEC return, send a correction from this page.
2027: an open seat
Fintiri cannot run again. In late February 2026 he left the PDP for the APC, becoming the party’s 30th governor as the PDP lost almost all of its governors. INEC’s final list for the 6 February 2027 election, published in October 2026, includes Aminu Ahmed Galadima for the APC, Maurice Vunobolki for the PDP and Modibbo Hammantukur Ribadu for the ADC.
