CAN A MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENT REVIVE PDP IN BORNO? Written by Hamza Idris, Maiduguri With the presidency’s rumoured strategy to appoint ministers who could sell the PDP in states considered as problematic, what is likely to be the scenario in Borno which has been under the control of opposition parties? Though President Goodluck Jonathan is yet to declare his intention to contest in the 2015 elections, his recent utterances regarding his right to contest suggest that he is likely to run. But the challenges regarding the next elections appeared to have multiplied and transmuted from what it was in the last dispensation. The recent merger of the three major opposition political parties in the country to form the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the recent split in the ranks of the PDP, where a faction, the new PDP sprung up to challenge the Alhaji Bamnaga Tukur led PDP, coupled with the possibility of the new PDP going into an alliance with the APC in the presidential election has served to throw more challenges on the path of the President should he declrae. The PDP won 23 states in the 2011 elections while the APC parties won 11 states. The coming of the new PDP has however depleted the number of the PDP states by seven leaving it with only 16. The development which has put the ruling party on almost the same starting point with the opposition according to many analysis, is not a palatable one for the President and as efforts are being made to reconcile with the seven governors that broke away, alternative arrangements are also being explored in case the peace efforts fail. One of such options explored by the President, it is believed, is the recent sacking of nine minister either appointed or believed to have acquaintances with some of the rebel governors. With the recent sack of nine ministers, the expectation is that those who will be appointed to replace them especially in states where the influence of the PDP has been minimal would be those that have the capacity not only to mobilize votes for the ruling partybut also give the opposition governors a good run for their money in the next general elections. In Kano, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Umar Na’abba, and a former aide to the President, Dr. Akilu Ndabawa, are said to top the list of those being considered while in Jigawa, former governor of the state, Alhaji Saminu Turaki, and Senator Mohammed Alkali, a former PDP gubernatorial candidate in the state are said to top the list. In Sokoto, Senator Abubakar Gada, who challenged Governor Aliyu Wamakko during the 2011 election, is said to be among those being considered while in Niger, the name of former governor Abulkadir Kure is said to top the list. In Rivers and Adamawa, those known to be opposed to the governors of the state like former deputy speaker, Chibudom Nwuche and Boni Haruna are said to be on the list of likely replacements. In Borno, the names in the category of those said to have the capacity to improve on the chances of the party are; a former FCT minister, Mohammed Abba Gana, former House leader, Mohammed Wakil and the House member representing Bama constituency, Abba Jato. What makes the case of Borno peculiar is that it is an opposition state as the PDP has never won the state and even in the last presidential election, it was not only defeated by the CPC with a very wide margin of 207,075 votes to 909,763 votes out of the 1,177,646 people that voted in that election but the votes the PDP garnered fell short of the target 25 percent the president was aiming at in ‘difficult states.’ It is not clear why Bukar Tijjani was dropped as a minister, but going by the current projection, it is clear that the President will want to include Borno as one of the states where the PDP would either make an in-road or at least improve on its 17.58 percent score in the last presidential election. In the last dispensation, when nominations from other parties were entertained to make for an all inclusive federal cabinet, the PDP In Borno received a heavy beating even with Governor Ali Modu Sheriif’s nominee, Hajiya Yabawa Wabi as minister of state for finance. In the current dispensation where only members of the ruling party are being considered, it is the calculation of the ruling party that that will serve to boost the chances of the party in problematic states. Analysts say if the Jonathan administration is to maintain the current projection and concentrate on picking those with the strength to deliver the state to the PDP or at least give him the 25 percent needed to add to his score in the presidential election, then the list to choose from as far as Borno is concerned is limited. Due to the fact that the PDP has never won Borno which had consistently remained in the firm grip of the ANPP, the commitment of those seen as strong PDP members had gone cold as over the years the zeal shown by people like kashim Imam, who flew the party’s flag in two gubernatorial elections and Sanusi Dagash who at various times won elections to the National Assembly on the ticket of the party has not been the same. The choice of Mohammed Goni as the party’s gubernatorial candidate in 2011 also caused divisions within the party. But how far can those said to be considered for ministerial position from the state go in terms of selling the PDP in Borno? Abba Gana: Mohammed Abba Gana was a former minister of the federal capital territory who is believed to have assisted his people with the federal jobs while in office. But since 2003 when he left office as minister, his presence has not been felt in his home state. His critics say he is more in Abuja and has not reached out to the grassroots population in the state. He has come out recently to support President Goodluck Jonathan asking northerners interested in the presidency to wait till 2019 as he said the President deserves to do two terms. The comment has so far won him to the hearts of the pro Jonathan campaigners and has put him among those being favoured by the presidency, but whether that would translate into support from his home base is another matter. Since the insurgency problem worsened in Borno, creating other social problems of lack of economic activities, hunger and idleness, the youth in the area have come to expect a lot from the prominent politicians from the area such that any of them that visits the state despite the threats and insecurity is considered a hero. In that regard, the minister is said to have a long way to go to win the hearts of the populace who have been looking forward to these kinds of interventions. Mohammed Wakil: Wakil was leader in the House of Representatives between 1999 to 2003 but left the House to contest for the PDP governorship ticket in 2003 and was defeated by Kashim Imam. Since he lost the ticket, he has remained within the party and very recently held forth as the vice chairman north eastern zone of the party. Though young and popular, he is also seen more as an Abuja politician and his personality does not resonate with the grassroots. He has also been supporting the Bamanga Tukur led PDP and by extension President Jonathan, but it is left to be seen how he could unite the party in the state given this perception about him to translate into more votes for the PDP. Abba Jato: Abba Jato is the House of Assembly member representing Bama constituency. Recently a group known as the Borno Diaspora Association came out to suggest to the presidency that he should be named as minister if the PDP is serious about improving itselectoral standing in Borno. Spokesman of the group, Kaka bawa Kyari said this is because it is only in Bama,, Jato’s constituency that the PDP has a full structure that is working in all the local governments in the state. Jato is a 1998 foundation member of the PDP and has never left the PDP. He worked closely with the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Alhaji Mohammed Goni during the 2011 campaigns and is said to be the preferred choice as speaker of the House of Assembly if the PDP had won majority seats in the House of Assembly. Some of the things going for him include the fact that he has not left Borno and has been with people even with the threat of insurgency and is known to be making efforts to revive the PDP in the state. He is also seen as strong supporter of President Jonathan as he is quoted as saying that “even our cultural values detects that whoever is in position of authority except he does things that you think are materially reprehensible, you have no reason to ask him to step outside while asking people who have done anything to come and take over from him.”
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 09:56:37 +0000
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