Dahiru Ahmed Aishatu

Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (born 11 August 1971), popularly known as Aisha Binani, is a Nigerian politician and entrepreneur who was the senator for Adamawa Central from 2019 to 2023. On 30 March 2020, she was appointed Gimbiyar Adamawa by the Adamawa Emirate Council. Binani was born on 11 August 1971, in Kaduna city. Her father, Dahiru Ahmed Chiroma, was a son of Ahmadu Malabu, an elder brother to Muhammed Ribadu, Nigeria's first Defence Minister.

Binani started her early school education in Kaduna and completed it at Gwadabawa Primary School, Jimeta in Yola. She obtained her secondary school education at Government Secondary School, Yola. In 1993, Binani then attended the Federal Polytechnic of Mubi where she obtained an Ordinary National Diploma and then Higher National Diploma in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. She completed her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) service in Borno state where she won the state merit award for outstanding performance.

Binani furthered her education by pursuing a certificate in Rural Radio Systems at the University of Southampton in the UK. Additionally, she holds a postgraduate diploma in Business Management and a certificate in Data Processing from Nasarawa State University in Keffi. Binani is married to Professor Ahmed Modibbo, a former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), who is believed to be one of the wealthiest individuals in Adamawa state.

In 2011, Binani joined politics. She was elected member of the 7th National Assembly where she represented Yola North, Yola South, and Girei Constituency of Adamawa State in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015, under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). While serving in this position, she was Chairman, House committee on Constituency Outreach, and member committee on Appropriations, Land Transports, Millennium Development Goals, and Petroleum Resources (Downstream) Public Service Matter.

In 2015, during her tenure as a legislator, she distributed 75,000 school bags to pupils in her constituency. Her efforts in the House of Representatives included initiatives in healthcare, education, agriculture, employment, and infrastructural development. Following her tenure in the House of Representatives in 2015, she pursued the candidacy for the Senatorial position representing Adamawa Central, with her husband, Ahmed Modibbo, concurrently seeking the position of Governor of Adamawa, both as members of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM). She lost to Abdulaziz Nyako while Modibbo lost to Bindow, both APC candidates.

In the 2019 general election, Binani contested again for the position of Senator for Adamawa Central, as a candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). She was confirmed in 2018 after winning the party’s primary election with 1,282 votes, surpassing Aliyu Wakili Boya, who received 599 votes. She secured 188,526 votes in the general election, defeating Murtala Chubado Modibbo of the PDP by a margin of 91,966 votes, making her the only female senator from northern Nigeria in the 9th National Assembly. She served as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In 2023, Binani contested for the position of Governor of Adamawa. In a primary election involving figures like former governor Jibrilla Bindow and Nuhu Ribadu, she emerged as the candidate with 430 votes, though Ribadu filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the election. The Federal High Court nullified the primaries, but the Appeal Court reinstated her candidacy. She contested against the incumbent Ahmadu Fintiri (PDP) in the 2023 general election. During collation, an illegal declaration of her victory by the state resident electoral commissioner, Hudu Ari, sparked controversy. INEC nullified Ari’s decision and suspended him. Binani was declared runner-up with 398,738 votes, while Fintiri secured 430,861 votes. She filed an ex-parte application to challenge INEC’s decision, leading to ongoing legal proceedings.

In December 2023, the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed her appeal, affirming Ahmadu Fintiri as the Governor of Adamawa State.