INSIDEPOLITICS APC support groups in Kebbi fight dirty over Bagudu Though in the same party, two groups fight over supremacy and recognition.
The long cold war and rivalry between the sponsors and leaders of the “Buhari/Bagudu 4+4 (BB4+4)” and “Buhari/Bagudu Support Organisation (BBSO)”, the Personal Assistant (PA) to Kebbi State Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Alhaji Faruku Musa Enabo and the governor’s younger brother, Alhaji Ibrahim Bagudu, became public recently when miscreants attacked the governor PA’s residence and smashed the windscreens of vehicles parked infront of his house at the Government Reversed Area (GRA) in Birnin Kebbi.
Though there had been a running battle between the two political figures and by extension their sympathizers and supporters over who controls the campaign machinery for Governor Bagudu’s 2019 re-election bid, it never at any time led to violence until two weeks ago.
An insider in both camps told our correspondent that there had been no love lost between the two since the governor’s brother had wanted his friend, Abdulrasheed Kane, a former senior staff of PHCN, to replace Alhaji Enabo as PA to the governor.
However, what led to the attack against the governor’s personal assistant started at the township stadium in Birnin Kebbi when the Buhari/Bagudu 4+4 supporters and sponsors, Alhaji Abba Aliero, the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Alhaji Suleiman Muhammed Argungu, Alhaji Haliru Bala, the governor’s Special Adviser on Political matters, Alhaji Yusuf Haruna, Alhaji Ibrahim Bagudu, Alhaji Bello Bagudu, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Babale Umar Yauri, Alhaji Sani Dododo, Alhaji Sani Sauro and others converged to showcase the group’s machinery. The governor was expected at the event but many were disappointed when he did not show up.
Before they departed from the event, some of the dignitaries and close allies of the governor who expected that his presence would signal his preference for the 4+4 were not happy when it became clear that he would not grace their event.
As such, because of the disappointment, some of the political bigwigs in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and sympathizers of 4+4 took turns to publicly express their displeasure at the governor’s absence. They accused his personal assistant, whom they fingered as the stumbling block. Before they left it was concluded that the governor should either choose to work with them or his personal assistant.
But as the event ended and they were leaving the stadium, some political thugs started pulling down some posters and billboards that were strategically mounted at the entrance of the stadium and its surroundings. They later moved to other areas of the town to destroy some posters.
It was a day after that the miscreants attacked the house of Alhaji Enabo. Soon after the incident, Governor Bagudu visited the PA’s residence to commiserate with him over the attack. One of the governor’s political aides who went with him said Bagudu was visibly angry and disappointed and he was heard saying to Alhaji Enabo: “You are not the one they attacked I am the one they attacked. Anyone who attacked you attacked me.” He was said to have immediately ordered full investigation into the matter and directed the police to bring whoever was involved to book.
In his reaction to the attack, the chairman of Buhari /Bagudu 4+4 Campaign Organization, Alhaji Kabiru Sani Giant, described the incident as unfortunate. He denied the alleged involvement of his members in the attack. “We don’t even have thugs in our office because we don’t harbour them so why should anybody accuse us of the attack,” he said.
When our correspondent met Alhaji Enabo at his residence amidst sympathizers, he declined to speak on the incident. He also directed the BBSO chairman Alhaji Umar Yellow Suru who was with him not to speak to the press on the matter.
The 4+4 group it was learnt was formed by Alhaji Murtala Habib Musa Jega, the younger brother to the former speaker of the state house of assembly, the late Alhaji Aminu Habib Musa Jega. He drew his members and supporters from the four emirates in the state to support Governor Bagudu’s re -election campaign. A source told our correspondent that when it started gaining popularity and support, it was “hijacked” by more powerful and close associates of the governor.
The BBSO was initially called Buhari Support Organisation (BSO). But it was gathered that because the governor’s PA is one of the national leaders of the organization, it was decided that the organization be domesticated to give support to the governor towards the 2019 re-election and Yellow Suru was appointed as the state chairman.
At a meeting held at the auditorium of the Presidential Lodge in Birnin Kebbi about three months ago, it was announced that BBSO had collapsed into the B/B 4+4 and Alhaji Kabiru Sani Giant was to direct its affairs but the move did not get the blessing of the founders and sponsors of BBSO.
“This was one of the things that culminated into the fallout of the crisis that later erupted between the two groups,” a source said.
Because of the dangerous dimension of the rivalry and competition between the groups and what it might cause the APC in the coming election in state, the elders of the party met at a closed-door meeting summoned by the governor recently. After the meeting in Government House, one-time governor of the state, Senator Adamu Aliero, announced to journalists that they have decided to proscribe the warring groups- BBSO and BB4+4 for peace to reign in the Kebbi APC.
“This meeting is about 2019 election. All political associations formed to get Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu and President Muhammadu Buhari re-elected are hereby dissolved into the All Progressives Party (APC) Campaign Organization. All the billboards, posters and offices would be named APC campaign organization,” he said. Aliero thanked the leaders of the proscribed political group noting that both the BBSO and 4+4 were formed in good faith to get Buhari and Bagudu re-elected for the second term in 2019.
He explained that “They bought cars, donated houses and contributed a lot to the success of the party but we had to take this decision to make the 2019 election peaceful in Kebbi State. It is to promote harmony among the party members. We cannot afford to have two associations in the party formed for the same objectives but having some differences.”
At the meeting the governor’s Chief of Staff, Alhaji Argungu was appointed as the new Director-General of the APC Campaign Organisation for the 2019 re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.
But even with the seeming sheathing of swords, the “war” can only be said to be over when campaigns starts.