PDP Governorship Primaries: A Harvest of Upsets, Protests
Many aspirants who were expected to sweep to victory at the last PDP governorship primaries were defeated by contestants who, in some cases, were hardly known by a lot of people, in a vote that increases concerns about the effects of internal dissensions
The Peoples Democratic Party governorship primaries held across the country on December 8 turned out to be a game of upsets. Many aspirants who were thought to be in pole position before the primaries finished very badly, with some defeated by relatively unknown aspirants. Perhaps, the greatest upset of the PDP governorship primaries was the fact that only two of the seven ministers who had resigned from the federal executive council on October 15 to vie for governorship positions in their respective states got the party’s governorship ticket. Former Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike won the PDP governorship ticket in Rivers State and former Minister of State for Niger Delta Darius Ishaku won the PDP primary election in Taraba State. The rest failed in their governorship bids on the PDP platform.
Former Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Samuel Ortom, lost the primary election in Benue State, which was won by Terhemen Tarzoor, a former speaker of the state House of Assembly; ex-Minister of State for Defence Musiliu Obanikoro lost to new PDP entrant, Jimi Agbaje, in Lagos State; and in Abia State, ex-Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, came a distant third in the primary election won by Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.
In Ebonyi State, former Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, was defeated by Mr. Dave Umahi, and ex-information minister, Labaran Maku, was defeated in Nasarawa State by Yusuf Agabi, a businessman.
Upsetting the Apple Cart
Delta:
Delta State is a glaring example of a place where the initial political arrangements were altered in a way that may cause problems for the party. When everyone expected Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s nominee, Mr David Edevbie, to carry the day, the ticket went to Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, whom many had thought didn’t stand a chance of winning the primary election.
Little did the audience at the Oshimili South Local Government Area Arcade take him serious during his declaration when he said, “I will succeed Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan next year, he will hand over to me.” But Okowa, the senator for Delta North senatorial district, clinched the governorship ticket at the primary election held at the Event Centre, Asaba, the Delta State capital.
The emergence of Okowa as the standard flag bearer of PDP did not only come as a surprise, it defiled all political calculations, sending shock waves across the length and breadth of the state in a primary election that was contested by 25 aspirants.
Before now, it had been concluded within the political circles that power should shift to Delta North, as South and Central have had their turns on the governorship seat. It was in this frame of mind that Uduaghan brought out Sir Tony Obuh, a retired civil servant and former Permanent Secretary, as his preferred candidate.
Everything appeared to be working as planned, as Uduaghan deployed resources and machinery towards Obuh’s campaign train to ensure victory at the primary. Having the backing of his former boss, Obuh traversed every nook and cranny of the state to sell his agenda.
But Uduaghan suddenly switched support to Edevbie, a former Principal Secretary to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, just few hours to the primary election. The decision to back Edevbie, who hails from Ugheli in Delta Central senatorial district, shocked everyone, leaving politicians who had hoped that power would shift to Delta North in disillusionment. This prompted overnight meetings, subterranean moves, and sudden political realignments to counter Uduaghan’s plans to upend the agreed power shift to Delta North.
Edevbie, who was Commissioner for Finance during Chief James Ibori’s regime, was believed to be the expression of a long orchestrated plan by some stakeholders to scheme Delta North out of the race under the pretext that the 12 aspirants refused to adopt a consensus candidate.
But delegates from the three senatorial zones clung to the principle of zoning and voted for Okowa.
Adamawa:
In Adamawa State, some 678 delegates were alleged to have met in Abuja and elected Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as the PDP governorship candidate, while allegedly allocating figures to aspirants many of who were absent. PDP stakeholders in the state have unanimously rejected the use of the alleged doctored delegates’ list by the National Working Committee of PDP to conduct the primary. The NWC decided to hold the primary election in Abuja on the excuse that there was insecurity in the state, but the state’s stakeholders have dismissed that as baseless.
The Chief Joel Madaki-led State Working Committee has accused those he called Abuja politicians of truncating democracy by promoting impunity and politics of imposition.
The other aspirants, including the governor, Mr. James Ngilari, have rejected the primary election. Though, Ngilari is said to have accepted a senatorial ticket allegedly foisted on him by the PDP national leadership. There were allegations that refusal to accept the senatorial ticket, which he had initially rejected, could have earned Ngilari removal through the court.
Nasarawa:
The upset in Nasarawa State was Yusuf Agabi, who emerged candidate, out of nine aspirants in an election many had expected Mr. Labaran Maku to win. Maku was one of the seven ministers who resigned from the cabinet of President Goodluck Jonathan on October 15 to join the governorship race in their respective states. Apart from coming to the race with an alleged federal might, Maku also comes from the majority Eggon ethnic group in the state. These were expected to help him win, even easily. But he came a distant second with 160 votes, against Agabi’s 2,014 votes.
Sokoto:
The Sokoto State governorship primary of PDP has been dogged by controversy. Analysts say the controversial election has exposed the deep animosity and division with the party.
Four aspirants had battled for the governorship ticket, including the deputy governor, Mukhtar Shagari, former Minister of Sports Yusuf Suleiman, Senator Abdallah Wali, and Senator Umar Abubakar Gada. However, Suleiman boycotted the election, alleging irregularities, while Shagari also shunned the exercise after petitioning the electoral panel to postpone the election. Wali won, despite popular expectations that Shagari would carry the day.
Pundits had earlier predicted that the election will end up in controversy because the election of delegates and its procedure were marred by alleged infraction. It was in view of the myriad problems bedeviling PDP in the state that a committee was set up, headed by Senator Illa Gada, to resolve the issues. But the committee’s efforts became an exercise in futility, as those who were bent on imposing one of the governorship aspirants refused to allow the presentation of the committee’s report to the elders committee chaired by former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa.
The confusion continued into the primary election. The process of accreditation of the 894 delegates at the Giginya Memorial Stadium started Monday morning and ended at night. Thus, many delegates who were eager to cast their votes and go back to their various local government areas were not able to do so as the election was conducted in the wee hours of Tuesday.
Shagari could not fathom the reason for the delay and he left the stadium in anger while many delegates deserted the stadium even before the commencement of voting. Shagari had after waiting endlessly for the election to commence, written a protest letter to the chairman of the electoral panel, Senator Umar Dukku, by 11pm last Monday, asking him to postpone the election. But the panel proceeded with the election which was concluded by 5.30am on Tuesday after which the chairman of the electoral panel declared Wali as the winner with 547 votes against Gada’s 193 votes and Shagari’s one vote.
Shagari alleged that names of approved delegates of the party were substituted with illegal delegates, who were brought in at night, given tags, and allowed to vote. Wali is widely believed to have been imposed by Bafarawa