The 2023 Jigawa State gubernatorial election took place on 18 March 2023, to elect the Governor of Jigawa State, concurrent with elections to the Jigawa State House of Assembly as well as twenty-seven other gubernatorial elections and elections to all other state houses of assembly. The election — which was postponed from its original 11 March date — was later scheduled to hold three weeks after the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

and National Assembly elections. Incumbent APC Governor

Mohammed Badaru Abubakar Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (born 19 September 1962) is a Nigerian politician who has served as the Nigerian minister of defence since 21 August 2023. He previously served as the governor of Jigawa State from 2015 to 2023. Badaru, as he is pop ...

was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third term. Deputy Governor Umar Namadi held the office for the APC by a margin of 24% over PDP nominee Mustapha Sule Lamido — a businessman and son of former Governor

Sule Lamido Sule Lamido (born 30 August 1948) is a Nigerian politician who served as the governor of Jigawa State from 2007 to 2015. He previously served as the foreign affairs minister of Nigeria from 1999 to 2003. He is a member of the Peoples Democrati ...

. Party primaries were scheduled for between 4 April and 9 June 2022 with the Peoples Democratic Party nominating Lamido on 25 May while the

All Progressives Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, t ...

nominated Namadi on 26 May. The day after the election, collation completed and INEC declared Namadi as the victor. In the final results, Namadi won about 618,000 votes (~60% of the vote) as runner-up Lamido received over 369,000 votes (~36% of the vote).

Electoral system

The Governor of Jigawa State was elected using a modified

two-round system The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive the plurality of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least two-thirds of state

local government areas A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The ph ...

. If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round will be held between the top candidate and the next candidate to have received a plurality of votes in the highest number of local government areas.

Background

Jigawa State Jigawa (; 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is a state in Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Jigawa was created on 27 August 1991, under the General Ibrahim Babangida military administration. Jigawa State was ...

is a northwestern state mainly inhabited by ethnic Hausas and Fulanis. It has a growing economy but is facing an underdeveloped agricultural sector, desertification, and low education rates. Politically, the 2019 elections confirmed the state's status as one of the most staunchly APC states in the nation as both

Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerians, Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to ...

and Abubakar won the state by wide margins and every single legislative seat on the

senatorial A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the eld ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, and

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

levels were carried by APC nominees. At the beginning of his term, Abubakar said his administration would focus on youth empowerment, human development, and social services. In terms of his performance, Abubakar was praised for his financial prudence but was criticized for frequent absences from

Dutse Dutse is the capital city of Jigawa State in northern Nigeria, and also the capital of Dutse Emirate. It is home to Federal University, Dutse established in November 2011. In addition to the Federal University Dutse, there is also a Research ...

and a lack of government transparency along with going on vacation amid deadly floods in September 2022.

Primary elections

The primaries, along with any potential challenges to primary results, were to take place between 4 April and 3 June 2022 but the deadline was extended to 9 June. According to some groups from the state's northeastern senatorial district, an informal zoning

gentlemen's agreement A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding wikt:agreement, agreement between two or more parties. It is typically Oral contract, oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspok ...

sets the North-East to produce the next governor as since the state's creation in 1991, all Jigawa governors have come from either the South-West or North-West senatorial districts. While none of the major parties formally zoned their nominations, the APC nominated a northeasterner while the NNPP and PDP did not.

All Progressives Congress

The night before the primary, Governor

asked candidates to pick a consensus candidate amongst themselves but the aspirants rejected his request. The next day, nine candidates continued to an indirect primary in

Kazaure Kazaure is an Emirate and a Local Government Area of Jigawa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the ancient city of Kazaure. Early history Kazaure was said to have been first settled by a group of Hausa (also known as Habe) hunter clan under ...

that ended with Umar Namadi—Deputy Governor and former Commissioner for Finance—emerging as the APC nominee after results showed Namadi winning over 85% of the delegates' votes. In his acceptance speech, Namadi thanked Abubakar before extending an olive branch to his former opponents. After the primary, Abubakar formed a party reconciliation committee in an attempt to stave off potential defections. In June, Namadi's running mate was announced as Aminu Usman—a serving commissioner. Despite the reconciliation attempts, former aspirant Farouk Adamu Aliyu challenged the primary results in court; in September, his suit was dismissed by a Federal High Court. By January, the court battle had reached the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

which ruled in favor of Namadi on 13 January.

Nominated

* Umar Namadi: Deputy Governor (2019–present) and Commissioner for Finance (2015–2019) **Running mate— Aminu Usman: Commissioner for Works and Transport

Eliminated in primary

* Farouk Adamu Aliyu: former

member for Buji/Birnin Kudu (2003–2007) and former

Minority Leader * Aminu Kani: businessman *

Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia (born 1965) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who has served as the deputy chief of staff to the president of Nigeria ( office of the vice president) since 2023. He previously served as the Senator representing Jigawa N ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for Jigawa North (2019–present), former Deputy Governor (2003–2007; 2015–2019), Secretary to the State Government (2001–2003), and state Attorney-General (1999–2001) * Sani Hussaini Garin Gabas: former state Attorney-General * Ahmad Mahmoud: former Deputy Governor (2007–2015) * Abba Muktar * Mohammed Sabo Nakudu:

for Jigawa South-West (2015–present) and former

member for Buji/Birnin Kudu (2007–2015) * Ahmed Zakari: former aide to

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

and son of former acting

Independent National Electoral Commission Independent National Electoral Commission may refer to: *Independent National Electoral Commission (Burundi) *Independent National Electoral Commission (Democratic Republic of the Congo) *Independent National Electoral Commission (Guinea) The Inde ...

Chairwomen

Amina Zakari Amina Bala Zakari () (born 23 June 1960) was the former Acting Chairman"The Acting Chairman"
...

Declined

Danladi Abdullahi Sankara Danladi Abdullahi Sankara (born 25 November 1954) is a Nigerian politician who served as the senator representing the Jigawa North-West senatorial district from 2011 to 2015 and from 2019 to 2023. He is a member of the All Progressives Congress. ...

for Jigawa North-West (2015–present) and former

member for Gagarawa/Gumel/Maigatari/Sule Tankarkar (1999–2003) *

Suleiman Adamu Kazaure Engr. Suleiman Hussaini Adamu, FNSE, CON is a Nigerian Engineer and former Minister, Federal Ministry of Water Resources under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Early life and education Suleiman was born in Kaduna in 1 ...

: Minister of Water Resources (2015–present) *

Muhammed Babandede Muhammed Babandede born in Jigawa State, Nigeria in 1963 is a former Comptroller General (CG) of the Nigeria Immigration Service NIS, before his appointment by President Mohammadu Buhari, he was the Deputy Comptroller General (DCG) of NIS, Oper ...

: former Comptroller-General of the

Nigeria Immigration Service The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) is a government agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, responsible for the country's border security and migration management. It was established by the Act of Parliament in 1963. In 2015, the 1963 Act w ...

(2016–2021)

Results

New Nigeria Peoples Party

The national NNPP announced its primary schedule on 12 April 2022, setting its expression of interest form price at ₦1 million and the nomination form price at ₦10 million with forms being sold from 10 April to 5 May. The rest of the timetable was revised on 19 May; after the purchase and submission of forms, gubernatorial candidates are to be screened by a party committee on 28 May while the screening appeal process is slated for the next day. Ward congresses are set for 22 April to elect delegates for the primary. Candidates approved by the screening process will advance to a primary set for 30 May, in concurrence with all other NNPP gubernatorial primaries; challenges to the result can be made the next day. The primary date was again shifted, to 6 June. In early 2022, Aminu Ibrahim Ringim (a former state cabinet official who was the PDP gubernatorial nominee in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

) and many of his allies defected from the PDP to join the NNPP amid a surge in NNPP ranks after former Kano State Governor

Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso 200px, Nigeria.html" ;"title="Kano State in Nigeria">Kano State in Nigeria Mohammed Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso, (born 21 October 1956) is a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Kano state from 1999 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2015. After he ...

joined the party. On the primary date, Ibrahim Ringim won unopposed. In July, the party's deputy gubernatorial nominee was announced as

Abdulaziz Usman Abdulaziz Usman Tarabu (born 1 January 1962) is a Nigerian senator who represents the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Jigawa State. He became a member of the Nigerian Senate in 2007. Background Abdulaziz Usman has a post-graduate degree in ...

—a former Senator.

Nominated

* Aminu Ibrahim Ringim:

and

PDP gubernatorial nominee, former Chief of Staff to Governor

, Commissioner of Agriculture, former

member **Running mate—

: former

for Jigawa North-East (2007–2015) and former

member (1999–2007)

Results

People’s Democratic Party

On the date of the primary, former MHR Bashir Adamu withdrew from the race but pledged his support to whichever candidate was nominated by the party. When vote collation was completed later that day, Mustapha Sule Lamido emerged victorious with 829 votes to 0 votes for his opponent Saleh Shehu Hadejia; three votes were invalid. On 11 June, Lamido picked state PDP Chairman Babandi Ibrahim Gumel as his running mate.

Nominated

* Mustapha Sule Lamido: 2019 PDP Jigawa South-West senatorial nominee and son of former Governor

** Running mate: Babandi Ibrahim Gumel

Eliminated in primary

* Saleh Shehu Hadejia: former Minister of State for Works

Withdrew

* Bashir Adamu: 2019 SDP gubernatorial nominee and former

member for Kazaure/Roni/Gwiwa/Yankwashi (1999–2015)

Declined

* Nuruddeen Muhammad: 2015 PDP deputy gubernatorial nominee and former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (2011–2015)

Results

Minor parties

* Binta Yahaya Umar ( Action Alliance) **Running mate: Naziru Inuwa * Sulaiman Yusuf Ibrahim ( Action Democratic Party) **Running mate: Wada Ibrahim * Sani Muhammad (

African Democratic Congress The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is a political party in Nigeria. As of 2022, Ralph Nwosu is the National Chairman. There are 2 ADC lawmakers currently in the Nigerian National Assembly. There are no ADC senators in the Nigerian Senate. H ...

) **Running mate: Auto Habiba Ibrahim * Ahmed Yero (

All Progressives Grand Alliance The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is a Nigerian political party formed in June 2002 and has governed the South eastern state of Anambra since 2003. Electoral history At the Nigerian parliamentary election, 2003, legislative elections ...

) **Running mate: Mohammed Hassan * Abdullahi Tsoho Garba ( Labour Party) **Running mate: Sule Yakubu * Hassan Ibrahim Aminu (

National Rescue Movement This is a list of political parties in Nigeria. The Federal Republic of Nigeria has a multi-party system. The largest by National Assembly seats are the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). There are also a num ...

) **Running mate: Shitu Abdu * Ahmed Adamu Kaugama (

People's Redemption Party The People's Redemption Party is a social democratic political party in Nigeria. The Second Republic reincarnation of the Northern Elements Progressive Union and the Fourth Republican reincarnation of a similar namesake, the party was cre ...

) **Running mate: Lawan Wurno Ma'awi * Ahmed Bello Ibrahim (

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

) **Running mate: Adamu Habuna Umar * Suleiman Abdullahi (

Young Progressives Party The Young Progressives Party (YPP) is a social-democratic political party in Nigeria. The party was created to challenge the two major contemporary parties in Nigeria, the People's Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress. In its man ...

) **Running mate: Maryam Murtala

Campaign

After the primaries, pundits noted the contrast between Namadi, who was hand-picked by outgoing Governor

, and Lamido—who was backed by his father, former Governor

. For Namadi, observers focused on the inability for incumbent Jigawa governors to get their hand-picked successors to succeed them while Lamido's lack of governing experience was also mentioned. Thus the race was framed as a potential enthronement of Abubakar as a political godfather if Namadi won or the entrenchment of a

political dynasty A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly electoral politics. Members may be related by blood or marriage; often several generations or multiple sibl ...

if Lamido won. By 2023, attention largely switched to the presidential election on 25 February. In the election, Jigawa State narrowly voted for

Bola Tinubu Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian politician serving as the 16th and current president of Nigeria since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and senator for Lagos ...

(APC); Tinubu won 45.8% of the vote, beating the 42.0% of

Atiku Abubakar Atiku Abubakar (; born 25 November 1946) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who served as the vice president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. He ran for the office of governor of Adamawa State i ...

(PDP) and the 10.7% of

Rabiu Kwankwaso 200px, Nigeria.html" ;"title="Kano State in Nigeria">Kano State in Nigeria Mohammed Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso, (born 21 October 1956) is a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Kano state from 1999 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2015. After he ...

(NNPP). Although the close result was unsurprising as projections had noted a close race, the totals led to increased attention on the gubernatorial race as it was a much slimmer APC margin of victory than in recent previous elections. Gubernatorial campaign analysis from after the presidential election noted the role of the Lamido family in the state PDP's renewal while observing increasingly tense regional dynamics between emirate communities. Pundits also observed that the boost of APC incumbency had been counteracted by largescale internal disunity in the state APC. Nevertheless, the EiE-SBM forecast projected Namadi to win based on the state's "settled" political dynamics.

Projections

Conduct

Electoral timetable

General election

Results

By senatorial district

The results of the election by senatorial district.

By federal constituency

The results of the election by federal constituency.

By local government area

The results of the election by local government area.

Notes

References

{{Nigerian state and local elections Jigawa State gubernatorial election

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2023 Jigawa State elections

Jigawa Jigawa (; 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is a state in Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Jigawa was created on 27 August 1991, under the General Ibrahim Babangida military administration. Jigawa State was ...

Electoral system

Background

Primary elections

All Progressives Congress

Nominated

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Results

New Nigeria Peoples Party

Nominated

Results

People’s Democratic Party

Nominated

Eliminated in primary

Withdrew

Declined

Results

Minor parties

Campaign

Projections

Conduct

Electoral timetable

General election

Results

By senatorial district

By federal constituency

By local government area

See also

Notes

References