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Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
From unprecedented internal legal battles for gubernatorial tickets in most of the political parties, to political ideology crisis and a scary outplay of ethno-religious pluralism, the battle for the number one seat in Taraba State ahead of the March 11 governorship election seems to be the toughest in the history of the state so far and promises even more interesting intrigues in the days ahead.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has enjoyed uninterrupted victory for the number one seat in Taraba since the beginning of the current political era in 1999 and has naturally produced the highest number of legislators and other elective positions over the course of the last 23 years.
From Reverend Jolly Nyame, late Danbaba Suntai to the incumbent Darius Ishaku, it has been a relatively safe ride for the party in transmitting power from one party man to another. However, as the months narrow down to weeks and days before the next election, a lot of people wonder if there will be an inter party change of baton for the first time since the return to democracy in 1999 or if the PDP will once again prove that it has come to stay in Taraba.
Faulty foundations
For many political observers, the fortunes of the leading political parties in the state namely the PDP and the All Progressives Congress(APC) at the gubernatorial election will reflect the crisis that arose from the very foundations during the party primaries that have become the most controversial in the history of the state.
The ruling PDP held a primary election with seven aspirants who bought forms and were cleared to contest. These were the then Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Professor Joseph Albasu Kunini, Professor Jerome Nyame, Dr Hilkia Bubba Jodda, Mr Joel Ikenya, Alhaji Aminu Kotolo, Damian Doddo, and Mr Victor Bala Kona, a former state chairman of the party.
However, barely a week to the party’s primary election, the then sitting state chairman of the party, Col. Kefas Agbu (rtd) joined the race under very controversial circumstances. For many political observers, he was allegedly imposed on the party by an elder statesman in the most undemocratic way, heralding an era of serious legal battle that will go as far as the apex caourt in the land.
Some of the aspirants such as Victor Bala Kona out-rightly boycotted the primaries while most of the rest simply didn’t show up for the exercise.
A Chieftain of the party told our Correspondent in confidence that the imposition of Agbu on the people marked the beginning of serious problems for the party.
“You know that he was not part of the game until the last minute. He was imposed on the party by the elder statesman and because the governor also seems to be so obsessed with his desire to go to the Senate that he would give in to anything so long as it furthers his cause. Unfortunately, they were very crude and rude about it. They showed no regards for either the standing zoning arrangement in the party or the party men who were also aspiring for the seat and were legally cleared to contest at the primaries”.
But if the primaries of the PDP were considered controversial, that of the APC could not be described in better terms.
For many people, the primaries that produced Senator Emmanuel Bwacha as the flag bearer of the party ahead of Chief David Sabo Kente, Saleh Maman, Senator Yusuf A. Yusuf, Professor Sani Yahaya, Mr. Irimiah Kifasi and Dr Anthony Manzo was nothing short of a smart outplay by the political gladiator in Bwacha.
Even other parties such as the Labour Party (LP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) also had various levels of issues with the primaries they conducted.
Legal battles
Naturally, a stream of litigations ensued as most political parties could not resolve the issues internally and aggrieved members proceeded to courts to seek justice.
For the PDP, the legal battle led by Professor Jerome Nyame went as far as the Supreme Court before it crashed like other rulings by the court recently, making heightened suspicion of unjust justice by the apex court for many observers. In the end, PDP and Agbu stand victorious.
The APC and Senator Emmanuel Bwacha were not so lucky. The Supreme Court nullified the Primaries of the party and a new Primary election held only recently with Bwacha reemerging victorious. This is even as one of the cases instituted by Senator Yusuf A. Yusuf was still at the Supreme Court awaiting judgement.
Some groups have come out to contest the primaries, alleging that it was illegal and or organized to specifically favour Senator Bwacha. Irrespective of opinion, the Senator has retained the ticket of the party at an indirect primaries conducted by a team from the national secretariat of the party led by former Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai and monitored by INEC, security agencies and other relevant stakeholders.
The Labour Party was also ordered to conduct a new Primary election which held recently with Mr Joel Ikenya emerging as the standard bearer of the party in the state despite protest by some sections of the party.
Expectedly, the fallout from the primaries and the ensuing legal battles have created such visible divisions within the parties such that the possibilities of uniting to work for the common good of the parties seem absolutely far-fetched.
Toughest times for PDP despite incumbency
The PDP candidates and the party have never had it so rough. In the last five years or thereabouts, the party has lost some critical members to the extent that some political analysts feel it has lost the steam needed to retain the state.
In the Southern senatorial district where the state governor, Darius Ishaku and the current standard bearer hail from, the party has lost most of the critical stakeholders who were seen as the backbone of the party. The current Senator from the zone, Emmanuel Bwacha defected to the APC. The two House of Representatives members are all in the opposition. Most of the state Assembly members, including the two in the governor’s hometown of Takum are also in the opposition.
The trend also reflects at other zones such as the Central and Northern zones where most of the legislators at all levels are in the opposition. The present gubernatorial candidate of the SDP, Honorable Danladi Baido who currently represents Lau/Karim Lamido/Ardo Kola federal constituency also left the PDP. The party barely maintains majority at the state House of Assembly with some of the members in the ruling party with various degrees of grievances against the party to raise enough concerns.
Some of the aspirants for various positions at the last party primaries are also terribly agitated and would rather work against the party. Most of them allege favoritism, imposition of candidates, prevalence of sentiments over party loyalty and competence in the choice of candidates for various elective positions.
Despite having a sitting governor in place, the PDP’s chances of sound outing at the next election seem under serious threats. For some, the performance of this administration is one of the worst threats to the party in the state.
Under the administration of Governor Darius Ishaku, the state lost both the male and female football teams after series of protests for non-payment of their allowances. Pensioners recently embarked on fasting and prayers against the governor and his senatorial ambition. Parliamentary workers are in protest over non-payment of their wardrobe allowances even as the state government is among the only three states in the country that have refused to implement the new minimum wage in the country.
The decision of the administration to sell the state owned Highland tea and beverage company against the wishes of the people, the cold war with some key stakeholders in Sardauna local government area could lead to protest votes against the PDP. Similarly, the decision to take the stool of Ukwe Takum from the Kuteb who are the original custodians of the throne to share it with his kinsmen as well as indifference to the plight of displaced persons in the zone could lead to protest votes in Takum and parts of Wukari.
The role of the administration during the sickness and death of the late Aku Uka of Wukari and the installation of the present Aku, still leaves a sour taste in the mouth of the people of Wukari local government area. It will take more than just having their son on the Ballot for them to trust the PDP. The challenges confronting the party cut across all sections of the state. The best bet for the success of the party may lie in a disorganized opposition, if that is achieved.
APC, a House
Divided against itself
At the 2015 general elections, the APC, under its pioneer Chairman, Alhaji Hassan Jika Ardo and the late Maman Taraba Hajiya Jumai Alhassan as the governorship candidate, presented an excellent outing where most political observers still believe the party won but was shortchanged. Since then, the 2023 general elections is considered by many as the best chance of the party to take over the state.
However, as the election draws closer, the cracks in the ranks of the party seem to be working more and more against its success.
The governorship candidate of the party, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha has been through the worst legal battle within a political party since the creation of the state. The party has contended with more legal battles arising from its primaries than ever before.
Bwacha recently alleged that “the ruling PDP government in the state is sponsoring some disgruntled elements in the party to create confusion in the party just to ensure that the party does not have a candidate for the governorship race in the state”.
Equally, some of the aspirants have consistently insisted that the party does not have a governorship candidate and described the recent primaries of the party that retained Senator Emmanuel Bwacha as the flag bearer of the party in the state as a mere charade.
At a live TV programme, one of the aspirants, Mr David Sabo Kente insisted that “the APC does not have a governorship candidate in Taraba. I will challenge the charade they call primaries because it cannot hold waters”.
However, Mr Aaron Artimas, publicity secretary of the party in the state has maintained that “the members making all the noise are just bad losers who are clawing on every straw as they drown in the cesspool of political irrelevance where they’ve taken themselves to. The APC will emerge victorious and stronger. We would form a government in Taraba and deliver the state to our presidential candidate overwhelmingly”.
Some stakeholders have also shown openly that while they will work for the success of the presidential candidate of the party in the state, they will not mobilize for the success of the governorship candidate.
Irrespective of the claims and counter claims, the chances of the party to have swept the state clean are gravely affected by the infighting. Safe for the political doggedness of the governorship candidate and some of the candidates for the various elective positions, it would have been a lost battle already.
Interplay of Politics of sectionalism
Sectionalism has also added spice to the battle for the number one seat in Taraba. The trio of religion, ethnicity and zoning have emphasized the division in the state that might reflect the voting pattern in the forthcoming election.
The state is predominantly a Christian state with a sizable Muslim population. Three of the four front runners so far are Christians. Consequently, the Christian votes could be divided among the trio of Bwacha of the APC, Kefas Agbu of the PDP and Danladi Baido of the SDP, while Professor Sani Yahaya of the NNPP may have the bulk votes of the Muslim population. Consequently, the race is for the front runners to secure as much votes from the Muslim population as possible to make any meaningful impact.
While Agbu and Bwacha are both from the Southern senatorial zone, same as the incumbent Darius Ishaku, Baido of the SDP and Yahaya of the NNPP are from the North and Central zones respectively. Each of the later duo may thus enjoy majority votes of their zones and spring surprises, even though they are from minority parties.
Consequently, the duo of Bwacha and Agbu have the onerous task of garnering as much votes from the other zones and theirs as much as possible in order to edge to victory.
Threat of insecurity to the polls
According to the INEC, there won’t be elections in about 34 polling units across the state due to insecurity. Banditry, kidnapping, ethnic clashes and rivalries have rendered some parts of the state “no go areas”.
Consequently, insecurity stands as a major barrier to the success of election and a determining factor to who may eventually emerge as the winner of the number one seat in the state. Most of the people affected by insecurity directly or indirectly, which is just about everyone, is very interested in how the major runners intend to tackle the issues of insecurity. Their ability to convince the people of their strategies may decide the voting pattern.
The road to 2023 general elections has proven to be the most intriguing in the history of the state for many political observers. While a lot of factors are spontaneously at play, shaping and reshaping the flow of events, it is obvious that the outcome of the election may spin some very interesting surprises. Obviously, the announcement of a winner may only usher in another era of interesting legal battle.
The Battle for Governor Darius Ishaku’s successor in the forthcoming general election is certainly an interplay of treachery, sectionalism and unprecedented intrigues.
