Nigeria First Female Governor: During Elections 2015, Taraba State Falls Short To Elect Aisha Al-Hassan

 

 

Many Nigerians thought voters in Taraba state would make history by electing the nation's first female governor. But Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, known as "Mama Taraba" by her supporters, lost to her main challenger, Darius Ishaku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Premium Times in Nigeria said Tuesday.

As the April 11 election neared, Al-Hassan of the All Progressives Congress (APC) emerged as a leading candidate in the race for the Taraba governorship, making it one of the most contested polls in Nigeria this year. Al-Hassan, an attorney, defected from the PDP and joined the opposition party after she was elected senator for the Taraba North constituency in 2011. She was the Taraba state attorney general and commissioner of justice as well as the chief registrar of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
Al-Hassan, a Muslim, pooled a large number of votes from the Gasol local government area as vote counting entered its second day in Taraba, allowing her to surpass the PDP’s candidate, Nigerian newspaper Osun Defender reported.  The lead triggered early celebrations nationwide by those who expected Al-Hassan to become the first female state executive. But as the final results from all 16 local government areas in the eastern state trickled in, Ishaku regained the lead by nearly 64,000 votes and hopes of making history sunk, the Premium Times said.

Nigeria’s election commission is still finalizing the collation of results in Taraba, but is expected to announce the PDP’s victory in the predominately Christian state. President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP, a southern Christian seeking re-election, also won the most votes in the eastern state against the APC’s candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, a northern Muslim. But Buhari defeated Jonathan nationally by a couple million votes, ending the PDP's 16-year rule.

Ciara Breaks Silence On Broken Engagement, Talks Ignoring Red Flags & Dating Again

 

 

It has been close to a year since Ciara and Future called off their engagement and with the exception of Cici’s telling single “I Bet,” the two have remained tight lipped about the split. However, the singer decided to break her silence during a recent interview with Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club.

On the breakup:

Well you know, I mean it clearly didn’t work out but I have the greatest gift, the greatest joy of my life, which is my son. Honestly, I feel like everything that happens in life happens for a reason and my son has been the greatest gift that God has given me in my life. He has been the most game-changing thing that has happened to my life in a necessary way. And that’s pretty much what happened.

On what went wrong with Future:

You know I can’t really break all of that down because I don’t even think it really matters, especially when the ending is as great as it is: my son. That what worked out. My son.

On her current relationship with Future:

We’re cool. You know what it is, we have a child together and as a parent, it’s important to be able to communicate. We don’t talk every day. There’s no need to, but my son is clearly the connection between he and I and as parents, I think it’s important to be able to communicate.

I like to stay happy and live life light. I think that when you carry a certain type of energy or you carry a funky energy that you hold onto within yourself, you just can’t grow. You can’t really move like you need to. So for me, I just like to be happy and cool with pretty much everybody and that’s just pretty much it.

On what she learned after the split and becoming a mother:

You live and you learn. My son has given me so much clarity. Now I feel like I’m a full-on woman. You don’t really understand what that means until a few things happen to you in life and my son has given me so much clarity. I couldn’t be any more clear than I needed to be–like needed to be. A lot of things that I don’t want, I really know and I’m clear about recognizing them when I see them. And I know a lot of things that I do want and what I hope for and I won’t move or budge until I get it. I think that’s kind of what happened with my son. He makes me like, I have to make the right decisions.

On dating again and the right time to introduce a man to her son:

I think it’s all about when it feels right.

On if she falls in love fast:

I think it’s just about going with the flow. I was a person who would be super hard. I would darn near date for a year before going to the next place. For me, I think with life you can’t really call it. You don’t know what a situation is going to be. You can take a year or you can take six months or you can take two. My dad, after knowing my mom for nine days, they were married and they’ve been together for 31 years. You never know. I’m not going to put a time limit on when I can do something. I’ve been experimenting over life, clearly, and I’m still trying to figure it all out.

On if she’d date another industry man:

You know, never say never but I do think that you gotta switch it up a bit.

On ignoring red flags like a man with kids by multiple women:

I’m human and I went with love in that situation. I think that you can be with someone who has no kids and they can be the biggest jerk in the world. He can be super wealthy and be the biggest jerk in the world. You can’t really call it. At the end of the day, I go with love and I think my son’s father had the greatest intentions to love me. A beautiful thing came from that. That’s just kind of how I see it.

On if she stays in touch with the moms of Future’s other children:

You know, I’m really focused on raising my son right now and being the best mom I can be. There is one mom though, of the kids, that I got along with really well and when I see her, we definitely get along really good. It’s all about the kids anyway so truthfully, whatever’s the right thing to do when the situation calls for it, you just do it