Wooing Lugga for Senate July 18, 2014 By Idris Salisu / Reporter of daily independence. As the 2015 general elections draw near, in Zamfara State political gladiators are seriously jostling to occupy the Zamfara Central senatorial seat in the Senate. Aspirants from the two major political parties, All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have started gearing up for a showdown against the incumbent Senator Kabiru Marafa in what political observers describe as a potentially lethal clash of the titans that is likely to significantly affect the outcome of the governorship election in a state. The former Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) governorship candidate in 2011 general election, Mouktar Mohammed Lugga, is among the top contenders touted for this position on the platform of APC. Very little was known of Mouktar Lugga until his entry into politics in 2011 after quitting his job as Regional Marketing Manager of Airtel Nigeria to contest for the governorship position on the platform of the defunct CPC. Despite his seeming inexperience in politics, Lugga was able to turn the affairs of the then ailing party around within a short period making it one of the top three political parties in the state. It was therefore no wonder that the incumbent governor, Dr Abdulazeez Yari Abubakar, found it necessary to persuade Lugga to withdraw his candidature in a strategic alliance between the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), CPC and ANC that finally brought the PDP to its knees in the 2011 governorship election. Lugga was later offered a commissionership to take charge of Environment and Solid Minerals in the all inclusive cabinet of Dr Abdulazeez Yari, a position he currently holds. He has distinguished himself in this chosen assignment as evidenced by the several laureates he has received from several reputable organisations. The latest being the most outstanding Commissioner Environment from North West Zone by the Northern Youth Forum. He was central to the Federal Government’s intervention in the lead poisoning crisis in the state and also a couple of other initiatives that cut across the Northern frontline states where he championed the creation of the Nigerian Frontline States Action Initiative on Desertification (NIFSAID). Born 47 years ago, Lugga who holds two Masters degrees in International Transport and Maritime Affairs respectively, started his primary school in Gusau, then attended Federal Government College, Sokoto for his O’ levels and Usman Dan Fodio University (UDUS), Sokoto where he obtained B.Sc in Geography. The call on the dynamic and ebullient commissioner is driven on the premise that since his entrance into the political landscape of the state in 2011 when he contested for the governorship seat of the platform of the CPC, the contest for the gubernatorial position by Lugga in 2011 not only brought him closer to the people of the 14 local government areas of the state but also brought out the refined leadership traits endowed in him. Despite his nomination as a commissioner in the all inclusive government of Governor Abdul’aziz Yari, the focused and well exposed Lugga remained the only political appointee from other political parties who failed to dump his political platform and defect to the (ANPP) in a show of shame and greed. This bold and firm action of Lugga has not only made him to be known as a principled person but has made him to be loved by the people of the Central Senatorial District and the entire state as he is considered to be one of the few politician in the state and country who holds firm supremacy principle of the party on which he contested election. And with the merger of ACN, CPC, ANPP and others to form APC, the decision of Lugga not to betray the CPC has become a vital tool which has made Lugga to be more popular and well respected in the political discourse of the state hence the resolve of many politicians and civil organisations in all parts to drum up support for him to contest for the Zamfara Central Senatorial District come 2015. Though he withdraw hi
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 03:59:10 +0000
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