Liquidation of PDP in Northcentral

Thrice he contested without having a foothold in the entire region. But at the fourth shot, the Northeast was a clean sweep for Gen Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 28 presidential election. Group Political Editor Emmanuel Oladesu takes a look at the political earthquake that has hit the region.

 

It was a movement that defied resistance. Those who attempted to resist it were swept away by the political earthquake. In the Northcentral geo-political zone, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Bihari, was unstoppable. Two weeks after the presidential poll, the effects of the governorship elections on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chapters in Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Nasarawa, and Benue, were more devastating. The APC won the polls, to the consternation of the ‘pompous’ leaders of the acclaimed largest party in Africa. The turn of events may have heralded the gradual liquidation of the party in the Middle Belt.

 

Kogi State was not insulated from the political tremor. At the parliamentary polls, the APC won the majority of National Assembly seats. The three senatorial seats were won by the APC.

 

Before and during the general elections, the Middle Belt and the far North were united on the pursuit of  power shift. The agenda gained prominence shortly after the demise of President Umaru Yar’Adua. Although President Goodluck Jonathan constitutionally succeeded the deceased number one citizen, the North perceived his second term ambition as an affront and negation of the principle of rotation and zoning of the Presidency, in accordance with the constitution and convention of the ruling party.

 

Even, when Gen. Buhari contested on the platform of weak parties – the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2003 and 2007, and the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2011 – he shook the PDP. He garnered substantial votes in of the states in the Northcentral. In fact, the lone CPC governor came from Nasarawa State. He defeated Akwe Doma of the PDP. In the recent elections, Gen Buhari built on his previous electoral victory in the zone.

 

Kwara State had become an APC state, following the inability of the President to reconcile with the defunct New PDP. The party leader, Senator Bukola Saraki, and his compatriot, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, defected from the PDP. With the Saraki Dynasty out of Kwara PDP, the chapter became a ghost of itself. Members of the PDP who remained – Senator Simeon Ajibola, Senator Makanjuola Ajadi and Mrs. Bola Shagaya – could not fill the vacuum. Aggrieved APC members, led by Mr. Dele Belgore, (SAN), defected to the PDP. But, they lacked mobilisation prowess.

 

The new configuration threw up Saraki as a worthy successor to his illustrious father’s stool. From 1964 to 2012, the late Waziri of Ilorin and Second Republic Senate Leader, Dr. Olusola Saraki, was the undisputed godfather. He earned power and wielded an enduring influence through professional hard work, grassroots politicking, compassion and a legacy of philanthropy. During electioneering, a member of the Saraki family, who was stranded in the PDP, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, defected to the APC. It was evident that the PDP was divided by the bitter struggle for elective offices, lack of reconciliation and consensus building and absence of a dynamic leadership, which Saraki has offered in the APC. Kwara PDP was divided along Belgore and Shagaya camps. A house divided against itself could not stand on election day.

 

The people of Kwara trust Saraki for three reasons. Many accept his leadership as a tribute to the selfless service rendered by his father. But, the younger Saraki also knows his onions. As a presidential assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, governor, chairman, Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), and senator, he has cut his political teeth and made impact on the polity. After eight years as a governor, he prevented a sibling from succeeding him and handed over to another worthy member of the dynasty, who has not failed the state in the last four years. Ahmed has successfully built on the imperishable feats of his predecessor. He has been fair to all the three senatorial districts in the distribution of social amenities, within the limit of available resources. Based on his performance, he earned a second term, unlike his challenger, Ajibola of the PDP, who is not on the same pedestal with him in charisma, carriage and productive service to the community.

 

The APC also made further in-road into Benue State. The PDP and the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) have been competing for the soul of the state since 2011. Former Governor, George Akume, who is the Senate Minority Leader, has been the opposition leader in the state. What compounded the woes of the ruling party was the pomposity, adamancy and over-bearing attitude of ambitious Governor Gabriel Suswam. Unlike Senate President David Mark, the governor lost his senatorial election.

 

Benue is made up of three zones. Akume, who Senate’s Minority Leader, is strong in Zone B. He was re-elected to represent his senatorial seat, despite the combined forces of Suswam and Mark. The duo  wanted to thwart his effort. According to observers, Akume has been waxing stronger because he sealed a pact with his senatorial district.

 

In Zone A, there are two gladiators – Suswam and Senator Barnabas Gemade, a one-time national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). While the zone supported Suswam for governor in 2007 and 2011, it also supported Gemade for the Senate in 2011. Gemade has come a long way. He is very popular. He has also made his mark as the General Manager, Benue Cement Company, member of the Interim National Government (ING) and member of the Constitutional Conference.

 

But, ahead of the elections, there was a clash of interests between the governor and the senator. Suswan wanted to take his ticket and Gemade said there was no vacancy. The governor vowed to dethrone the old man. The old political warhorse dismissed it as an empty threat. Apparently, the power-loaded governor underrated Gemade, a fighter, to his peril. The supporters of the old man reminded the governor that Gemade was the PDP National Chairman when he was in the House of Representatives. Suswam’s ambition divided the zone. The party became hot for Gemade and as a last resort, he defected to the APC, where he got the senatorial ticket. Gemade defeated the governor, who wielded the power of incumbency.

 

Gemade won in Konshisha Local Government Area. He also won in Kwande and Vandekia council areas. Suswam won in Logo and Ukum. But, it appeared there was a wool on the governor’s eyes. He was insensitive to the effects of declining popularity as an incumbent. To observers, the governor performed in his first term and earned a second term. But, in the last four years, complaints about his style of governance have been mounting. Benue is a civil service state. Yet, salaries of workers have been irregular. During the elections, teachers were aggrieved. Besides, the PDP succession plan was not perceived as a collective project. Many PDP chieftains alleged that the governor handpicked the PDP governorship candidate, adding that the party primaries were not transparent. Thus, members of the PDP also voted for the APC candidate, Dr. Samuel Ortom.

 

During electioneering, no analyst gave the APC any chance in Plateau State. In fact, the PDP won the presidential, senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly elections. The puzzle is: why was the governorship poll a departure? Many observers pointed out that Governor Jonah Jang, a retired naval commodore from Berom, bungled the chance of the PDP by imposing another Berom, Senator Gyang Pwajok, as the standard bearer.

 

There are many ethnic groups in Plateau. Thus, the competition for power is latent. Berom is the single largest group. But, it is not the dominant group. Beroms are in Jos North Senatorial District.  Jang succeeded Joshua Dariye from Plateau Central, after spending eight years in office. Next month, the governor will also bow out after two terms in office.

 

Since 2011, there have been agitations for power shift to Plateau South. The crusaders for power rotation argued that the next governor should come from the district that has not enjoyed the slot in the last 16 years. But, Jang refused. Instead, he imposed his kinsman, Pwajok, on the party, thereby altering the rotational principle. The party was divided during the primaries. Few could challenge the governor into a duel. But, the PDP went into the governorship election as a divided house. Many aggrieved PDP chieftains defected to the APC with their followers, thus decimating the ruling party. The governor was jolted out of the delusion that he was on top of the situation. His candidate lost the election.

 

InNiger State, there was a mass movement in favour of Gen Buhari but Governor Babangida Aliyu could not read the mood of the people, who  wanted him to lead them into the Buhari train. But, he was indifferent. He was among the seven PDP governors, who protested injustice in the party. But, he and Sule Lamido, his Jigawa State colleague, waited behind in the party when the others defected. His deputy, Ahmed Ibeto, took up the challenge when he dumped the PDP for the APC. But, the governor launched a war against him. There was a groundswell of opposition against Aliyu’s style. According to observers, he has become a noise maker, instead of sticking to the job he was elected to do. His performance has also been called to question by critics.

 

During the senatorial by-election, the handwriting was bold on the wall. Aliyu was losing grip, but, he dismissed the APC threat as inconsequential. The APC candidate won the election, but the mandate was stolen. The court was infuriated and restored the mandate to the rightful owner. During the governorship election, APC has grown in leaps and bounds. The magic wand was Buhari’s name and Aliyu failed to install a successor.

 

Whether the Buhari factor swung the pendulum of victory towards the direction of the APC governor, Tanko Al-Makura, is debatable in Nasarawa State. Curiously, the PDP got more votes than the APC at the presidential elections in the multi-ethnic state. Some observers have said that the party bounced back on the strength of the governor’s personality. Al-Makura is perceived as a performing governor. Others said that the influence of Gen. Buhari cannot be underrated, in view of the fact that the governor rode on the back of the CPC to power in 2011. Working in tandem with the governor was former Governor Abdullahi Adamu, who retained his senatorial seat. The candidates of other parties could not match the APC arsenal because of the soaring popularity of the governor. The proof of his popularity was that he survived an impeachment plot when his party did not even command the majority in the House of Assembly.

 

One of the governor’s challenger was the former Information Minister, Labaran Maku, who defected to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), shortly before the polls. He is from Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area, a very big voting constituency. But, his people had an axe to grind with him. The Ombatse controversy raged for a long time. According to them, the former minister abandoned them in their time of trial.

 

In Kogi State, there was no governorship election. But, at the parliamentary elections, there was a fierce battle. In Yoruba-speaking district of Kabba/Yagba/Ijumu, APC candidate Dino Melaye defeated the former Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) President, Senator Smart Adeyemi, who will be completing two terms next month. The party also won many seats in the National Assembly and House of Assembly elections. The APC also won in the two other senatorial districts.