Excitement as Adamawa State Association of the Deaf Elects New Executives

 

by Yusuf Mohammed Lawan, Gombe, 7th October 2024

Penultimate Saturday the joy of entire members of Adamawa state Association of the Deaf (ASAD) knows no boundary as the association elects its brand new State Executive Committee members that will steer its affairs for the next four years. 

The election which was earlier scheduled to hold in July this year was however suspended due to some unavoidable circumstances that griped the deaf community of Adamawa state and was rescheduled to hold at Blind Workshop, JONAPWD office, Nasarawo, Jimeta, Adamawa state on Saturday 5th October, 2024, Ability News Network reports.

The election which witnessed the active participation of elegible voters cutting across all the 21 LGAs of Adamawa state comprising Gombi, Mubi North, Mubi south, Michika Madagali, Hong, Lamurde, Numan, Demsa, Guyuk, Ganye, Maiha, Jada, Toungo, Mayo Belwa, Song, Fufore,  Yola south, Yola North (Jimeta) and  Girei LGAs commenced at  exactly 10: 34am. 

Jubilant supporters of Colman celebrating their candidate's victory

Considered by the observers as the longest election ever conducted in the history of the North East  zone due to the large size of eligible voters  whose lengthy  numerical strength push the casting of votes which earlier commenced at 10am to conclude at 7pm enabling the counting of votes and declaration of results by the electoral committee to lingers for another two hours from 7pm to 9pm. 

 The hotly contested and peaceful election  bring joyful excitements to many, not only in Adamawa state but throughout the North East zone and some parts of the country at large as fangs of jubilation were raised everywhere.

Those who emerged victorious during the peaceful election were : Christopher Colman Sa'ad who polled the highest votes  of 605  to clinch the coveted chairmanship position after defeating his closest rival Nuhu Liman who managed to secure only  68 votes out of approximately 700 votes casted, in the vice chairmanship category,  two contestants namely Aminu  Bello and Twalami Phillips tested their popularity during the election with Aminu Bello edging out with a higher votes of 448 against Twallami's paltring  120 votes, with a huge number  of 116 invalid votes separating the two jovial brothers. Likewise Mr. Lawan Abubakar Ndotti polled 545 votes to floor his main challenger Aliyu Hussein with  139 votes to emerge the elected Secretary General of Adamawa State Association of the Deaf

While the assistant secretary's slot was won by Thomas Joseph who polled a total of 406  votes to defeat his female opponent Rhoda Zunge who secured 172 votes, Vasco Christopher secured 295 votes to win the Public Relation Officer's position after defeating two other opponents Umar Abubakar with 82 votes and Abubakar Aminu with 243 votes respectively.

Others were; Musa Hamman who scored 455 massive votes to see off Sasserinah Phillips with 131votes and  claim the position of ASAD   Treasurer,  Linda Paul scored 448 votes to smile home the ASAD Financial Secretary's slot against her closest opponent Ibrahim Saad with paltring 212 votes

Furthermore, the hotly contested ASAD Youth Leader' s slot was won by Shamsudeen Sani with  480 votes against his main challenger  Masaudu Mohammed meager 155 votes, 549 huge votes are just enough for Roses  Charles to claim the position of ASAD Women Leader and  edge out the duo of Hadiza Yahaya and Gayauna Kelvin who polled 187 and 27  votes respectively, 

Patience Andrew of Demsa LGA emerged the  winner of the Social Secretary position after scoring 488 votes to defeat the duo of Dakama Iliya and Sonita Suleiman who polled 65 and 110 votes respectively, whereas the battle for the ASAD Chief Whip position was fiercely fought between Yusuf Daho and Muhammad Rabiu Abdulkareem which saw the former scoring 600 votes (second highest in the contest) to win the Chief Whip slot against the latter's paltring 77 votes.

Meanwhile the Adamawa South Coordinator's slot  went almost squarely in favour of Badamasi Mohammed who scored the highest vote of 306 to floor his challenger Buba Mohammed with only 15 votes to his credit, similarly the Adamawa Central coordinator's position was sweeped by Mustapha Aminu who gained 165 votes to see off his main challenger Buhari Saidu Mohammed who managed to smile away with mere 62 votes. The only position that went squarely unopposed was the position of Adamawa North Coordinator which Emmanuel Yantre won  (unopposed).

The ASAD election, Ability News Network gathered was graded free, credible and fair election that met the international best practices by the observers who supervised the election, notable personalities who acted as election observers  including the  Nigerian National Association of the Deaf (NNAD)'s North East Zonal Coordinator, Bashir Usman kellumi, chairman of Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD) Adamawa State Chapter,  representatives from Adamawa State Ministry of Woman Affairs and some prominent elders of ASAD complete the observers list.

Speaking shortly after the announcement of election result the JONAPWD chairman, Mr Sani Sabo commended everyone  for the peaceful, fair and free election and advised the winners to be working hands in hands  with the losers in order to move association forward, emphasizing that his door is  open to work with them for the progress of Deaf Association in the state. 

The Electoral Committee chairman, Mr Usman Kadala also  admonished the new executive members to set their goals (blue print ) for the development of the association, urging them to  leave the past issues behind. 

Mr Saleh Musa, the  outgoing Care-Taker Committee ( CTC) chairman also commended the  winners for their victory in the election, promising to  handover everything to them to carry out  their duty effectively and will extend his supporting hands to achieve the mandate of the association. 

A vehicle used to convey voters from different locations to the election venue

On his part, the North East Association of thr Deaf (NEAD) President,  Mr Bashir Usman appreciated  JONAPWD chairman, representatives of the Women Affairs ministry, CTC and Electoral Committee members for the  diligence commitment and team work exhibited that lead to the peaceful, credible, free and fair election in Adamawa state

In his acceptance speech, the newly elected Chairman of Adamawa state Association of the Deaf (ASAD), Christopher  Colman Sa'ad expressed immense gratitude to everyone who contribute to the success of the election

His words, "my fellow ASAD citizens, esteemed Electoral Committee officers, and honored opponents, i stand before you today, humbled and grateful, as the newly elected state chairman of our great ASAD" 

 "This victory would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of my supporters, who traveled from far and wide to cast their votes for me. Your unwavering trust and dedication are the fuel that drives me to serve our community with integrity and compassion. Thank you for believing in my vision"

"To the Electoral Committee officers, namely; Mr. Usman Iliyasu Kadala, Pst Samuel Dimas, Rev. Ruth Ulea, Hon. Saleh Matta Musa,  Ishaku Sunday and Farave Bitrus, i extend my deepest appreciation for your exemplary display of responsibility and transparency throughout this electoral process" 

"Your commitment to fairness and accountability has strengthened our democracy and ensured the credibility of this election. Our election, initially scheduled for July, was postponed due to a petition filed by my opponent. However, after resolving the issue, you people was given confident to lead the next election a new election was later conducted peacefully and transparently, resulting in my victory. Thank you all"

"To my opponent, I acknowledge that our past encounters have been marked by intense rivalry, bitter disagreements, anger, and frustration, especially before and during the election period. However, I extend an olive branch and invite you to join me in leaving those differences behind and embracing a new era of cooperation and unity for the betterment of our community"

"As we move forward, I pledge to uphold the principles of transparency, accountability, and inclusivity. My administration will prioritize the needs of our citizens, fostering an environment of growth, unity, and prosperity"

"Thank you once again for this mandate. Together, we shall achieve greatness"