# 2023 Nigerian Senate elections in Adamawa State

The 2023 Nigerian Senate elections in Adamawa State will be held on 25 February 2023, to elect the 3 federal Senators from Adamawa State, one from each of the state's three senatorial districts. The elections will coincide with the 2023 presidential election, as well as other elections to the Senate and elections to the House of Representatives; with state elections being held two weeks later. Primaries were held between 4 April and 9 June 2022.

## Background

In terms of the previous Senate elections, none of the three incumbent senators were returned, with APC-turned-ADC Adamawa Central Senator Abdul-Aziz Nyako retiring to unsuccessfully run for governor whilst both APC senators (North's Binta Masi Garba and South's Ahmad Mo'allahyidi Abubakar) were defeated in their re-election bids. In the Central district, Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed regained the seat for the APC with 57% of the vote; on the other hand, the PDP's Ishaku Elisha Abbo and Binos Dauda Yaroe won with 44% in the North district and 53% in the South district. These results showed both the failure of the Adamawa ADC to hold the seats it gained through defections and the PDP's gains in the state as the party also won five House of Representatives seats and gained control of the House of Assembly. The PDP presidential nominee, Adamawa-native Atiku Abubakar, also won the state back from Buhari and Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri defeated APC incumbent Bindow Jibrilla in the gubernatorial election.
During the 2019–2023 term, the all senators gained notoriety as Ahmed was the only women serving senator from northern Nigeria until December 2020 and Yaroe became known for medical projects in his district. However, Abbo was the most high-profile senator as he was caught on video violently assaulting a shop owner and eventually had to pay damages to his victim; he was also the youngest serving senator in the entire body and became the first senator to switch parties when he defected to the APC in November 2020.

## Overview

| Affiliation | Party | Party | Total |
| Affiliation | APC | PDP | Total |
| Previous Election | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Before Election | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| After Election | 1 | 2 | 3 |

## Summary

| District | Incumbent | Incumbent | Results | Results |
| District | Incumbent | Party | Status | Candidates |
| Adamawa Central | Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed | APC | Incumbent retired New member elected PDP gain | ▌Abdul-Aziz Nyako (APC) ▌Ahmadu Hamman (NNPP) ▌Y Aminu Iya Abbas (PDP) |
| Adamawa North | Ishaku Elisha Abbo | APC | Incumbent re-elected | ▌Y Ishaku Elisha Abbo (APC) ▌Abdullahi Dauda Belel (NNPP) ▌Amos Yohana (PDP) |
| Adamawa South | Binos Dauda Yaroe | PDP | Incumbent re-elected | ▌Adamu Ismaila Numan (APC) ▌Y Binos Dauda Yaroe (PDP) |

## Adamawa Central

The Adamawa Central district covers Fufore, Girei, Hong, Song, Yola North, and Yola South local government areas. The incumbent is Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (APC), who was elected with 57.1% of the vote in 2019. In March 2022, Ahmed announced that she would run for governor of Adamawa State, instead of seeking re-election.

### Primary elections
#### All Progressives Congress

On the primary date, three candidates contested an indirect primary in Yola that ended with former Senator Abdul-Aziz Nyako emerging as the nominee after results showed him defeating first runner-up Abdullahi Musa by a 58% margin. In his acceptance speech, Nyako thanked delegates before vowing to bring good representation to the district.
APC primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | APC | Abdul-Aziz Nyako | 292 | 77.45% |
| | APC | Abdullahi Musa | 72 | 19.10% |
| | APC | Bindir Buba | 13 | 3.45% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 377 | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 379 | Unknown |

#### People's Democratic Party

On the primary date, an indirect primary in Yola resulted in the victory of Aminu Iya Abbas—the Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly and MHA for Uba-Gaya. Abbas beat first runner-up Awwal Tukur, Adamawa State University Governing Council Chairman and the son of former Governor Bamanga Tukur, by a 31% margin. However, a group of losing aspirints filed a lawsuit challenging the primary based on claims of electoral irregularities; a Federal High Court judgment annulled the primary on 28 November but based the ruling on the illegal participation of Tukur, who had not resigned his appointed government position as required by law. In January 2023, Abbas appealed the ruling at the Yola Division of the Court of Appeal. The next month, the Court of Appeal reinstated Abbas as the valid nominee.
PDP primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | PDP | Aminu Iya Abbas | 125 | 53.88% |
| | PDP | Awwal Tukur | 54 | 23.28% |
| | PDP | Mustapha Ibrahim Baba | 32 | 13.79% |
| | PDP | Mohammed Chubado Murtala Modibbo | 13 | 5.60% |
| | PDP | Daniel Bwala | 4 | 1.72% |
| | PDP | Abubakar Ibrahim Gwal | 3 | 1.29% |
| | PDP | D.D. Azura | 1 | 0.43% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 232 | 100.00% |

### Campaign

In race analysis in December 2022, reporting from The Nation categorized the election as extremely competitive while also noting Ahmadu Hamman (NNPP) as a prominent candidate. A piece from The Africa Report in January echoed the sentiment of competitiveness, also pointing out the power of the Nyako family in the area.

### General election
#### Results

2023 Adamawa Central Senatorial District election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | % |
| | ADC | Aliyu Butu | |
| | APC | Abdul-Aziz Nyako | |
| | LP | Saidu Ismaila Adamu | |
| | New Nigeria Peoples Party | Ahmadu Hamman | |
| | NRM | Nuhu Saad | |
| | PDP | TBD | |
| | PRP | Aminu Abubakar Dahiru | |
| | SDP | Ibrahim Ahijo Karlahi | |
| | YPP | Simon Bawa | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |

##### By federal constituency

The results of the election by federal constituency.
| Federal Constituency | Abdul-Aziz Nyako APC | Abdul-Aziz Nyako APC | TBD PDP | TBD PDP | Others | Others | Total Valid Votes |
| Federal Constituency | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Total Valid Votes |
| Fufore/Song Federal Constituency | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD |
| Gombi/Hong Federal Constituency | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD |
| Yola North/Yola South/Girei Federal Constituency | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD |
| Totals | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD |

##### By local government area

The results of the election by local government area.
| LGA | Abdul-Aziz Nyako APC | Abdul-Aziz Nyako APC | TBD PDP | TBD PDP | Others | Others | Total Valid Votes | Turnout Percentage |
| LGA | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Total Valid Votes | Turnout Percentage |
| Fufore | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Girei | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Gombi | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Hong | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Song | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Yola North | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Yola South | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Totals | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |

## Adamawa North

The Adamawa North district covers Madagali, Maiha, Michika, Mubi North, and Mubi South local government areas. The incumbent is Ishaku Elisha Abbo (APC), who was elected with 44.5% of the vote in 2019 as a member of the PDP; he defected to the APC in November 2020. In December 2020, Abbo said that he would run for governor of Adamawa State, instead of seeking re-election; however, he did not purchase gubernatorial primary forms and eventually chose to run for re-election to the Senate.

### Primary elections
#### All Progressives Congress

On the primary date, screened candidates contested an indirect primary that ended with Abbo's renomination. Abbo returned as nominee with results showing him defeating runner-up businessman Hamisu Idris Medugu by a 13% margin. In a Facebook post, Abbo thanked his campaign team and former opponents. However, in the wake of Abbo's expulsion from the APC in October, party members sued to have him removed as the party's senatorial nominee. A Federal High Court ruling on 10 January 2023 removed Abbo as nominee; in response, Abbo vowed to appeal the judgment.
APC primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | APC | Ishaku Elisha Abbo | 137 | 48.41% |
| | APC | Hamisu Idris Medugu | 100 | 35.34% |
| | APC | Binta Masi Garba | 46 | 16.25% |
| | APC | Abdulrahaman Kwacham (withdrawn) | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 283 | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 283 | Unknown |

#### People's Democratic Party

Four screened candidates advanced to the primary where Amos Yohana defeated Zira Maigadi by a 56% margin.
PDP primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | PDP | Amos Yohana | 123 | 71.93% |
| | PDP | Zira Maigadi | 28 | 16.37% |
| | PDP | Aji Wampana | 18 | 10.53% |
| | PDP | Philip Alango | 2 | 1.17% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 171 | 100.00% |

### Campaign

In a Senate campaign analysis piece in December 2022, The Nation reporters categorized Abbo as the frontrunner due to the relatively low name recognition of his opponents but noted the crossover appeal Abdullahi Dauda Belel (NNPP) appeared to have among supporters of other parties. However, the race was drastically changed in the next month when a court ruling removed Abbo as the APC nominee due to his expulsion from the party.

### General election
#### Results

2023 Adamawa North Senatorial District election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | % |
| | ADC | Ahmed Usman | |
| | APC | TBD | |
| | LP | Mohammed Adamu | |
| | New Nigeria Peoples Party | Abdullahi Dauda Belel | |
| | NRM | Grace Ezra | |
| | PDP | Amos Yohana | |
| | PRP | Zakariya Joshua Medugu | |
| | SDP | Hadiza Ahmed | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |

#### By federal constituency

The results of the election by federal constituency.
| Federal Constituency | Ishaku Abbo APC | Ishaku Abbo APC | Amos Yohana PDP | Amos Yohana PDP | Others | Others | Total Valid Votes |
| Federal Constituency | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Total Valid Votes |
| Madagali/Michika Federal Constituency | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD |
| Maiha/Mubi North/Mubi South Federal Constituency | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD |
| Totals | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD |

#### By local government area

The results of the election by local government area.
| LGA | Ishaku Abbo APC | Ishaku Abbo APC | Amos Yohana PDP | Amos Yohana PDP | Others | Others | Total Valid Votes | Turnout Percentage |
| LGA | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Total Valid Votes | Turnout Percentage |
| Madagali | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Maiha | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Michika | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Mubi North | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Mubi South | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Totals | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |

## Adamawa South

The Adamawa South district covers Demsa, Ganye, Guyuk, Jada, Lamurde, Mayo-Belwa, Numan, Shelleng, and Toungo local government areas. The incumbent is Binos Dauda Yaroe (PDP), who was elected with 53.5% of the vote in 2019, who is seeking re-election.

### Primary elections
#### All Progressives Congress

On the primary date, five candidates threatened to withdraw from the primary due to alleged vote-buying by an agent of the sixth candidate—Adamu Ismaila Numan. In response, the primary committee suspended the exercise and eventually rescheduled it for 29 May. The rescheduled primary ended with victory for Ismaila Numan but the five other candidates again protested the results and called for Ismaila Numan's disqualification due to vote buying.
APC primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | APC | Adamu Ismaila Numan | 403 | 91.80% |
| | APC | Ahmed Abubakar | 26 | 5.92% |
| | APC | Grace Folashade Bent | 8 | 1.82% |
| | APC | Bala Sanga | 1 | 0.23% |
| | APC | Bridget Zidon | 1 | 0.23% |
| | APC | Sani Jada | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 439 | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | 10 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 449 | Unknown |

#### People's Democratic Party

On the primary date, an indirect primary in Numan resulted in the Yaroe's renomination as he beat his sole opponent—Peter Fwa—by a 62% margin.
PDP primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | PDP | Binos Dauda Yaroe | 232 | 80.84% |
| | PDP | Peter Fwa | 55 | 19.16% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 287 | 100.00% |

### Campaign

In review of the campaign in December 2022, reporting from The Nation categorized Yaroe as the frontrunner due to the relatively low name recognition of his opponents and the controversial APC primary.

### General election
#### Results

2023 Adamawa South Senatorial District election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | % |
| | ADC | Umaru Suleiman Danrimi | |
| | APC | Adamu Ismaila Numan | |
| | LP | Jesse Seth Ngurikan | |
| | New Nigeria Peoples Party | Abubakar Buba Pullo | |
| | NRM | Bellow Hayatu Muktar | |
| | PDP | Binos Dauda Yaroe | |
| | PRP | Nurudden Adam Nyako | |
| | SDP | Burke Ghate Williams | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 100.00% |
| Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | Invalid or blank votes | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |

##### By federal constituency

The results of the election by federal constituency.
| Federal Constituency | Adamu Ismaila Numan APC | Adamu Ismaila Numan APC | Binos Dauda Yaroe PDP | Binos Dauda Yaroe PDP | Others | Others | Total Valid Votes |
| Federal Constituency | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Total Valid Votes |
| Demsa/Numan/Lamurde Federal Constituency | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD |
| Guyuk/Shelleng Federal Constituency | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD |
| Mayo Belwa/Ganye/Toungo/Jada Federal Constituency | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD |
| Totals | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD |

##### By local government area

The results of the election by local government area.
| LGA | Adamu Ismaila Numan APC | Adamu Ismaila Numan APC | Binos Dauda Yaroe PDP | Binos Dauda Yaroe PDP | Others | Others | Total Valid Votes | Turnout Percentage |
| LGA | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Votes | Percentage | Total Valid Votes | Turnout Percentage |
| Demsa | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Ganye | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Guyuk | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Jada | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Lamurde | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Mayo-Belwa | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Numan | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Shelleng | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Toungo | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |
| Totals | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % | TBD | % |