Behind him come less prominent northern candidates including Obasanjo loyalists such as Kaduna State Governor Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi (who helped out in the constitutuonal conference) the more sycophantic Abdullahi Adamu of Nassarawa and Abdulkadir Kure of Niger State (who might be seen as too close to Babangida)...
Nigeria: 2003 Governorship race Abia Orji Uzor Kalu PDP Yes Strong Adamawa Bonnie Haruna PDP Weak Akwa Ibom Victor Attah PDP Yes Even Anambra Chinwoke Mbadinuju PDP Yes Weak Bauchi Adamu Muazu PDP Yes Even Bayelsa Diepreye Alamieyeseigha PDP Yes Weak Benue George Akume PDP Weak Borno Mala Kachalla ANPP Weak Cross River Donald Duke PDP Strong Delta James Ibori PDP Strong Ebonyi Sam Egwu PDP Even Edo Lucky Igbinedion PDP Yes Strong Ekiti Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo AD Strong Enugu Chimaroke Nnamani PDP Yes Even Gombe Abubakar Hashidu ANPP Even Imo Achike Udenwa PDP Even Jigawa Ibrahim Saminu Turaki ANPP Weak Kaduna Ahmed Makarfi PDP Yes Even Kano Rabiu Kwankwaso PDP Yes Weak Katsina Umaru Musa Yar'Adua PDP Even Kebbi Adamu Aliero ANPP Strong Kogi Abubakar Audu ANPP Even Kwara Mohammed Lawal ANPP Weak Lagos Bola Tinubu AD Yes Even Nassarawa Abdullahi Adamu PDP Yes Weak Niger Abdukadir Kure PDP Yes Weak Ogun Olusegun Osoba AD Strong Ondo Adebayo Adefarati AD Strong Osun Adebisi Akande AD Strong Oyo Lam Adesina AD Strong Plateau Joshua Dariye PDP Weak Rivers Peter Odili PDP Strong Sokoto Attahiru Bafarawa ANPP Strong Taraba Jolly Ngame PDP Strong Yobe Bukar Abba Ibrahim ANPP Strong Zamfara Ahmed Sani Yerima ANPP Yes Even * Petition submitted to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ANPP ambitions Buhari and the ANPP also hope to make big gains in the south-east where the Igbo (the third biggest ethnic group) believe they have been sidelined by Obasanjo's government...
In Nassarawa it was going to be a straight fight between Governor Abdullahi Adamu and Haruna Abubakar the Senate's former Deputy President...
Governors present included the long standing Obasanjo adversary Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia State) and several others who had not been publicly antagonistic to the government such as: James Ibori (Delta); Diepreye Alamieyeseigha (Bayelsa); Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom); Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna); George Akume (Benue); Bonnie Haruna (Adamawa); Sam Egwu (Ebonyi); Peter Odili (Rivers); Abdullahi Adamu (Nassarawa); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano)...
In Kogi and Nassarawa states there is a rough balance of Muslims and non-Muslims; state Governors Abubakar Audu (Kogi) and Abdullahi Adamu (Nassarawa) are both Muslims but unenthusiastic about Sharia...
