As the governorship election draws near, Kunle Oderemi looks into some intrigues surrounding moves by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to choose its candidate.
FOR the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, the forthcoming governorship election is an opportunity to affirm the dominance of the party for 16 years since 1999. From the incumbent Governor Idris Wada to the PDP top echelon, nothing has happened in the political circle in the state to alter that configuration. This is notwithstanding the serious incursion made by the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) during last National Assembly and presidential elections in Kogi. To them, it was temporary setback, which the PDP was poised to reverse on November 21, when the governorship poll holds in the state.
Governor Idris situated the inroad of the APC when he officially began his reelection journey by obtaining his nomination forms. He is convinced that the goodwill of President Muhammadu Buhari throughout the last elections would not stop the hitherto hurricane PDP. Besides, he said he was not a politician that moved about with rented crowds. “You could observe that while Buhari won the presidential election in Kogi State, PDP clearly won the state assembly positions; that shows that PDP is clearly on ground in the state. …By the grace of God, we will win the forthcoming election. No doubt, having the APC president will have impact on the election, I am confident that our people will vote massively for PDP. Definitely, Buhari’s popularity won’t help the APC,” the governor stated.
Wada is in sync with another stalwart of the Kogi PDP on the chances of the party in what some analysts have dubbed the epic battle for Lugard House in 16 years. The publicity secretary of the PDP in the state, Mr. Bode Ogunmola, believes that majority of the more than 1,350,883 Kogi voters will not despise the party on November 21. He says the party leaders and other faithful have learnt useful lessons from the ugly incidents that occurred in the party and are set to rout the APC at the poll. His words: “I agree that we made some mistakes of impunity, imposition of candidates in the past. However, we have learnt our lessons in very bad way very hard lessons. This time around, impunities are over. We will sit down together, we will follow the guidelines and we will go through the primaries and anybody who picks the ticket will fly the party’s flag.”
One of the factors that is probably responsible for confidence of the PDP leaders is probably because of the motley crowd that if jostling for the ticket of the APC. Whereas the latter cleared 28 aspirants that underwent screening, only three contestants reportedly paid N11 million each for the Expression of Interest (EoI) and nomination forms, as at August 8, when the sale of nomination forms officially ended. These are Wada, former governorship aspirant in 2011, Alhaji Jubrin Isah and Banjo Amota Moses. It is not yet clear about the fate of Jibrin Isah Echocho, who is said to be under pressure from a number of highly influential PDP members, including governors to throw his hat into the ring.
The other factor that has in a way imbued confidence in the Kogi PDP leaders is the issue of incumbency. The thinking is that the PDP has some measure of evidence spread across the three senatorial zones of the state as the governing party over the years and particularly in the last three and half years or so. Wada and his political associates, as well as supporters have been showcasing those major strides recorded under his administration so as to tower above other contenders for either the PDP ticket or the APC. For the umpteenth time, the governor said apart from completing inherited projects, he executed new ones across all the senatorial districts. He said though he does not expect critics to praise him because they will naturally turn a blind eye to his achievements, he executed those projects based on the resources at the disposal of his administration and conviction that they were necessary for the growth and development of Kogi.
Ironically, the fewer number of contenders for the PDP ticket comes with its own challenge, going by political intrigues and undercurrent trailing the choice of a candidate. The declaration of the party not to give an automatic ticket to the incumbent in his second term bid has reinforced the sharp division among major stakeholders in the PDP within and outside the state over the ticket.
Those opposed the re-election bid of the governor are said to be queuing behind Alhaji Echocho. He is said to enjoy a lot of popularity among the youth through his philanthropic activities.
He narrowly missed the ticket in the past because of hi-tech political intrigues among the key actors in the PDP. The puzzle among other leaders of the party in the state now is whether he would fully Wada in case the incumbent emerges as PDP standard bearer. Or can the governor go solo and win, given the foray of the opposition party in the last elections? What significant difference will the other aspirants for the PDP ticket make if they choose to align with either Wada or Echocho if he eventually comes forcefully into the contest?
The role of other tendencies in the race for the PDP ticket is evident, especially in recent times. Various interest groups have either been trading blames or throwing their weight behind the contenders, especially Wada. While members of the PDP Elders Advisory Council said those advocating power shift this time should bury the dream, another caucus, PDP Concerned Group urged the PDP leadership to prevail on Wada to drop his reelection ambition. According to the former, the advocates of power shift should bring the issue to the fore in 2019. The chairman of the Advisory Council and former governor of the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, was quoted as saying Wada deserved another four years in Luguard House, having done well in his first term as governor. Thus, he declared: “Captain Idris Wada will be given total support to win November 21, 2015 governorship election which is around the corner. Kogi state is a PDP state. However, machinery will be put in place for power shift toward 2019 governorship election. Part of the machinery that will be put in place is the setting up of a committee to look into the issue of power shift immediately after the election.”
But, the PDP Concerned Group, which seems diametrically opposed to the PDP Elders Council claimed the PDP risked losing the governorship poll if it fielded Wada because what it perceived as the dismal performance of the governor so far. In a petition purportedly sent to the PDP national headquarters in Abuja, the body alleged that the people of the state were only waiting to sack Wad from government house through the ballot box on November 21. “If PDP loses in the forthcoming gubernatorial polls, the morale of many party faithful in this state will drop, and many might decamp to other parties,” it claimed. But, the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Strategy, Jacob Edi, has come in stout defence of his principal. Edi believed that the opposition of such group to the re-election bid of the governor was based on malice, as other groups and individuals have since solidarised with Wada on his ambition. He stated: “Just as they are saying the PDP will lose if Governor Wada contests; there are other groups that have also said that the only alternative for the PDP will be the emergence of Wada as the party’s flag-bearer. They include: the Kogi State Elders Forum, students, market women, okada riders and others.”
In all, it is apparent that the battle for the PDP ticket for the governorship poll in Kogi is not just between the PDP and the APC. It is, by a considerable degree, between Wada and some contrived forces within and outside the state, with some influential members of the PDP acting a common script.
