From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
From all indications, tension and uproar are building up among interest groups in Southern Kaduna over the deputy governorship seat in order to do away with a Muslim-Muslim ticket or to maintain it in the 2027 Kaduna State gubernatorial election.
This is because the incumbent deputy governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, would have served two terms to exit office constitutionally by 2027.
Surprisingly, Southern Kaduna people, unlike in the past when they strongly fixed their eyes on the number one seat in the state, now appeared to be more interested in the number two seat.
The recent mass defection to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) from the major opposition party, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) may have no doubt given Governor Uba Sani soft landing for the second tenure in office, come 2027.
However, the people will do everything humanly possible to have the position of deputy governor given to them, Christian community in particular, even as Muslim community too vows not give up the position.
But the National President of Southern Kaduna people’s Union (SOKAPU), Samuel Tabara apparently showed no worry and concern about who becomes the deputy governor of the state between Muslim and Christian groups.
Tabara simply told Daily Sun that, “we need responsible people in government. Religion is not a barrier”.
SOKAPU’s position not withstanding, it was gathered that interest groups have emerged, holding nocturnal meetings in order to mount pressure on Governor Sani to pick his deputy from any of the groups that has the upper hand in convincing him.
A dependable source privy to two of the separate meetings held recently by Islamic and Christian faith groups told Daily Sun that each group is hell bent on having the deputy governorship position to its side.
The source added that while the Islamic group insisted that there is nothing wrong with retaining the Muslim-Muslim ticket since it is the political rights of the governor to select whoever he so wished to work with irrespective of ethno-religious inclination, the Christian group said there is no equity and balance in the administration of Kaduna State since religion has roles to play in political affairs of the state, and as such there should be fair sharing of political positions among the two major religions.
It would be recalled that the immediate past governor of the state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai had announced the selection of Hadiza Balarabe, a fellow Muslim as his running mate for the 2019 election, a decision that attracted wide spread criticism against the choice of the governor.
At that time El-Rufai said the choice of Mrs Hadiza was deliberately done to encourage women participation in government, adding that the then President Muhammadu Buhari endorsed the choice of Hadiza.
A source disclosed that while El-Rufai was shopping for a deputy governor, names of one Shaddalafiya, and one Ruth of Christian extraction in Southern Kaduna came up, but El-Rufai rejected them on the excuse that he couldn’t dump Buhari’s choice.
The then incumbent deputy governor, Barnabas Bala, had opted to go to the National Assembly having emerged as the APC’s candidate for the Southern Kaduna Senatorial district. But Bala died few months after he lost the election for the National Assembly seat.
Nevertheless, the selection of Hadiza Balarabe was the first time in the history of Kaduna State that a major political party will select a woman as running mate.
Prior to becoming the deputy governor, Balarabe was the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Development Agency, a position she had held since February 2016.
In that role she had overseen the Kaduna State Government’s programme to revitalise and strengthen primary health care as the core of health service delivery in the state.
Under her watch, the State renovated and equipped 255 primary health centres with tools to assist better antenatal services and safer delivery. The agency also helped expanded vaccine coverage to protect children across the state.
Also, before joining the service of Kaduna State, Hadiza Balarabe was the Director of Public Health in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). She studied Medicine at the University of Maiduguri, and graduated in 1988. She was a Senior Registrar at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) before joining the services of the FCT in 2004.
In 2019, El-Rufai supported Uba Sani to replace Shehu Sani as the Senator for the Kaduna Central Senatorial DMistrict, before also supporting Uba Sani in succeeding him as governor in 2023.
Governor Sani was Mr El-Rufai’s political adviser when the latter served his first term as governor between 2015 and 2019.
Meanwhile, some religious clerics have reacted to the issue of Muslim-Muslim ticket for the Kaduna State governorship election in 2027.
A Kaduna based Pastor, Rev. Emmanuel Olorunmagba said, “as fate will have it for Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, his Deputy will complete her two tenures by 2027. She did one term with former Governor El-Rufai and has done the second term with Uba Sani. Hence, she will no longer be able to contest as Deputy Governor based on the law.
“Therefore, the situation has created opportunity for Senator Uba Sani of Kaduna State to prove that he is truly ready to undo the errors of his predecessor. And one of these major errors that needed to be corrected is this Muslim-Muslim ticket. Hence, we hope that Governor Uba Sani will do the needful by getting a Christian from Southern Kaduna as his next running mate”.
In his own reaction, the Secretary of the Kaduna State chapter of Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN), Alhaji AbdurRahman Hassan, noted that, “first of all democracy is a game of number, this is what is at play in Kaduna State. When former Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai went for the Muslim-Muslim ticket, most of our Christian brothers in the state, more especially in Southern Kaduna did not vote for him. Yet he won without their votes.
“The stand of our Council, Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN) Kaduna State Chapter), is: we will never go for anything contrary. After all, the population of Muslims in Plateau State is by far greater than Christian population in Kaduna State, yet there wasn’t any Muslim Deputy Governor in Plateau State right from the beginning of second republic.
“No one is crying foul, why should there be any complain in Kaduna State, if Muslim-Muslim ticket is maintained? So, the politicians have the right to make their choices, but they shouldn’t forget that the electorate also have their rights.”
Interestingly, political observers have noted that Governor Uba Sani appear to have a soft spot for a Christian Deputy Governor, come 2027. This, according to one of the political observers who pleaded anonymity is the fact that the governor will like to have a Christian deputy governor to penetrate the Christian community better as part of the state’s efforts to achieve peaceful coexistence between the two major religions.
“You can see Governor Uba Sani’s actions and body language towards Christians in the state is friendly. He is very close to them physically and spiritually. He personally attended Christmas carol on two occasions in the state. This is what his deputy should have done if she is a Christian so that the governor himself could attend to other state issues.
“Governor Uba Sani has been advising well-meaning residents of Kaduna State to checkmate the antics of ethnic and religious bigots, by living in peace, love and unity for overall progress and development of the state,” the source said.
Daily Sun recalls that during the 2023 and 2024 Christmas festivities, Governor Uba Sani had attended the Christmas Carol of Six Lessons organised by the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at ECWA Good News, Narayi High Cost, Kaduna.
This style of leadership, according to political observers, had never happened with a Muslim governor in the history of Kaduna, except by delegating their Christian deputy governors to represent them at such occasions.
Governor Sani who noted that there could be no development without peace and harmony, expressed happiness that everyone now lives freely without intimidation because of their tribal or religious affiliations in Kaduna State.
According to the governor, he attended the Christmas Carol to celebrate with Christians because when he took the oath of office, he promised to treat everyone equally, irrespective of their religious, tribal, or political affiliations.
He expressed happiness that both Jama’atuI Nasril Islam (JNI) and CAN have been working together as one family to maintain peace in Kaduna State, which he described as an important achievement.
The governor commended the Secretary of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) who attended the Christmas Carol with him, adding that “I can tell you that some people are not happy, but the fact remains that we took an oath, and those who are not happy may be the minority. The most important thing is that the majority are happy because we are working towards the development and progress of our state; for me, that is the key.”