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From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
In Kebbi Central Senatorial district, a major battle is imminent ahead of 2023 general elections. It would be fought by two prominent personalities in the All Progressives Congress(APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Both are the two major political parties in Kebi State.
The incumbent governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu had won the party’s primary while Senator Muhammadu Adamu Aliero, the occupier of the seat at the National Assembly had withdrawn eleven hours from the race, alleging that, there were irregularities in the build up to the primary.
The Local Government Areas which constitute the Senatorial district include Birnin Kebbi, Bunza, Jega, Aliero, Maiyama, Kalgo, Koko-Basse, and Gwandu. In most of the local governments, Bagudu, who is the incumbent governor, is having total control over the Council Chairmen, and many stakeholders in the areas, including traditional and religious leaders. But Aliero who defected to the PDP is banking on his old structure, old friends and allies and believes that the power of incumbency would not have any influences in the 2023 general elections in the state.
Like many other governors across Nigeria, who always seek the Senatorial ticket as an exit point after their second terms in office, Bagudu’s supporters had purchased the Senatorial nomination for him, asking him to contest for the seat.
Predictably, at the APC Kebbi Central Senatorial primary, Bagudu, triumphed over the incumbent Senator Adamu Aliero, by clinching the ticket. Bagudu, who was also a two time Senator, edged out Aliero at the party senatorial primary election conducted at Haliru Abdu Stadium in Birnin Kebbi which was supervised by the Retuning Officer for the election from the National Secretariat of APC, Abuja, Kelechi Njoku. He declared Bagudu as the winner of the Kebbi Central Senatorial seat primaries. He announced that Bagudu scored 445 votes cast by all the delegates thereby clinching all the eight local government areas that made up Kebbi Central while the incumbent Senator, Muhamadu Adamu Aliero has no vote.
In his acceptance speech, an elated Bagudu expressed delight that the exercise ongoing simultaneously across Nigeria was peaceful, democratic and transparent in the state. He also happily recalled that the APC gubernatorial primary in the state was also similarly peaceful, fair, and transparent.The Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum lauded the delegates for their humility, doggedness and understanding.
According to him, “I have accepted the nomination in good faith and I will provide quality representation, as ever. This is sequel to the request by the stakeholders of the party in the constituency for me to contest the seat, penultimate week. They had then also did same for the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN. We are both divinely reminded that power comes from the Almighty Allah. Little did we know that the AGF will answer a higher call from our Father, President Muhammadu Buhari. For that reason therefore, he did not present himself for the nomination.”
Bagudu also recalled that he had won a similar ticket in 2006, but had to relinquish it to Aliero, because of the ANPP/PDP merger then. He said, “that was in order to accommodate Aliero who had then just joined the PDP and he was given the ticket. We are for peace and the people, and we will never relent in doing this for posterity to positively remember us.”
While reacting to Aliero’s defection to PDP, Bagudu who is also Chairman of Progressives Governors Forum(PGF) said his party, APC is not afraid or worried about his defection and that of the former Senate Leader, Dr Abdullahi Yahaya to PDP. Bagudu said: “Again, regrettably, that is life, we don’t want anybody to leave the party. I don’t want anybody to leave. In fact, when I was elected in 2015, the first step we took was that, we would not remove anybody from government on the account of his or her political affiliations.
“ A lot of my party’s members thought I was wrong but that is what I believed. Nigeria, Nigerians,we don’t have time to fight each other. We should complement each other because what is the population of Nigeria compared to China? As at now, Nigeria is about 230 million, that is two- third of China population which is growing on double digits. We believed in unity, people coming together for national development and progress. And we shall continue on that trajectory. My SSG wasn’t in APC when we came in but because of his competency, we retained him.
“Along the line, other people in other parties joined us. But regrettably, the last few months or so, we have started having conflict which is related to transitory period. When transition period is coming, people are coming with different ambitions, regrettably, leading to some people leaving”.
Bagudu said: “I don’t want to disparaging anybody. I regret anybody leaving the party. But that is not to say I am afraid or we are afraid. I had in 2011 contested election against Senator Adamu Aliero in different political parties, not that I like it, but that is how God works. We hope that people will be fair minded in telling their supporters something that will be leading to peace and improving peaceful coexistence. But APC in Kebbi State, by God’s grace, we are not worried that somebody is leaving the party”.
Bagudu, while urging political leaders in the state to desist from utterances which could foment crisis, said: “ So, God made us in different ways, even among my children, one is opposite the other and that is life. So, to those who are making uncharitable comments on me, I pray one day, they will find a way to eschew the bitterness and take their role as a leader and talk about how to move our state and country forward”. He added that, as an elected officer, he has always refrained from criticising anybody on public sphere and making uncharitable comments no matter the situation or what the person might have caused, stressing that leaders must be guided by the oaths of office they took.
However, Senator Aliero, having failed to dislodge Bagudu from clinching the Kebbi Central senatorial ticket under APC, defected to PDP to actualize his ambition. The former governor of Kebbi whom many residents of the state perceive as the godfather of Kebbi politics, is still battling to get a clean clearance as the authentic candidate of PDP for the Kebbi Central senatorial district.
Aliero, while speaking to newsmen after defecting to PDP at an event center, Birnin Kebbi, said: “I have come back to PDP which we left in 2015. I have been in PDP in 2007 but we left in 2015 and PDP couldn’t form the government in 2015 and I went to APC. But today, I come back. I left APC because of injustice, lack of projects for the poor man by APC and other injustice to many of my supporters. I have come back to PDP now and we are going to form government come 2023.”
Prior to his defection, a Senatorial primary of PDP for the Kebbi Central Senatorial district was conducted where a former State Chairman of the party, Alhaji Haruna Saidu Dandio won election on May 27th, 2023. It was learnt that the main opposition, which was looking for strong personality that could help them to defect to the ruling party, accepted to give Aliero the ticket while they try to pacifiy the bearer to step them. Another primary was conducted on June 9, 2022, where Senator Aliero emerged as the winner.
However, Dandio, who had refused to step down for the presumed godfather of Kebbi politics has been suspended by the PDP Nassarawa Ward 1 executives, the ward where he was presumed to have registered as the member of the party.
While Aliero is celebrating his victory as the senatorial candidate of PDP for the Kebbi Central, Dandio, a BOT member of PDP and immediate State Chairman, refused to relinquish his ticket for him. This development, according to many political pundits, portends a lot of political implications for PDP in the state and Aliero’s victory in 2023.
While announcing the suspension of Dandio from the party, the 13 Executive Committee of the Ward, in their meeting held on June 18, 2022, resolved to suspend the former party Chairman over his letter written to the Resident Electoral Commission without exhausting the conflict resolution mechanism. In their minutes, made available to newsmen and signed by 13 Executive Committee members of Nasarawa ward 1, including their chairman, Ibrahim Abdullahi Mazaba, and the Secretary, Nasiru Aliyu, they accused Saidu- Dandio, of granting interview, condemning the decision of the national working committee.
According to them, “at its extraordinary meeting held on Saturday, 18th June, 2022, the Executive Committee of Nasarawa Ward 1 noted the inappropriate conduct and anti-party activities of Mallam Haruna Sa’idu Dandio before and after the conduct of the fresh Kebbi Central Senatorial Primaries election of 19th June as ordered by the National Working Committee, specifically; his clandestine activities with the ruling party in the state such that his press interview was conducted in Kebbi State Liaison Office in Abuja and his continued anti-party activities in spite of so many entreaties to him.
“ The Nasarawa 1 Ward Executive Committee hereby resolved that, the state executive committee should be duly and adequately informed of the inappropriate conduct and anti-party activities of Mallam Haruna Sa’idu Dandio for appropriate disciplinary action; that Mallam Haruna Sa’idu Dandio be and is hereby suspended from the party pending the decision of the State Executive Council or any appropriate disciplinary organ of our party in respect of our request”.
It could be recalled that, the former State Chairman of PDP, who had won the Kebbi State Central senatorial district primary unopposed had written to the INEC recently, warning them not to participate in another primary election to allow Senator Muhammad Adamu Aliero to contest for the same position which he had won.
He explained in the letter that, Aliero was an APC member when the first PDP Kebbi Central senatorial district primary was conducted under the supervision of INEC. Sa’idu’s resistance that Aliero should be given fresh senatorial ticket under PDP after he, Sa’idu had won the ticket, it was gathered, did not augur well with PDP chieftains who see Aliero as an asset to the main opposition party in the 2023 general elections.
While speaking with newsmen, Dandio said; “ I am a member of the Peoples Democratic Party and I obtained our party’s forms to contest the Kebbi Central Senatorial District ticket. I was screened to contest and I have the certificate of the screening, which cleared me. I participated in the primary and I was returned unopposed. I got 262 votes and I didn’t at any time think anything untoward would happen.
“After some time, Senator Adamu Aliero, who was still in the All Progressives Congress at that time, used several channels, including some party officials, to get across to me to accept monetary compensation in place of my ticket. There were rumours going round that he was interested in the ticket and that he would find a way to get it but I didn’t even entertain the discussion with those who reached out to me.
“My motivation for going into the race was to serve my people, so the issue of being bought was not even an option. I’m a member of the PDP Board of Trustees and I am the immediate past chairman of the party in my state where I served for four years. How could such a rumour come up and people would want to ridicule my personality and objectives in life. I am determined to serve my people, so nobody should just come and say he wanted to give me money as a form of compensation. I’m not into politics to make money. There were entreaties and efforts to get me to withdraw my interest for Aliero but they were all to no avail. I stood my ground, only for me to hear that he had emerged as the candidate”, he said.
However, the battle for the soul of Kebbi Central Senatorial district still continues to generate controversy on whether PDP, and INEC would recognize Senator Adamu Aliero as the authentic candidate of the party as against Dandio, who had earlier won the ticket, to face Bagudu, the incumbent governor in the 2023 general election.
