Kogi PDP primary : The crowd cometh again
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- Category: Sports
- Written by Ahmed Tahir Ajobe
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Since the party’s pronouncement jettisoning the last primary which was won by Alhaji Jibrin Isah Echocho, former Managing Director of Afribank now Mainstream Bank, various aspirants for the state’s top most seat and their strategists have gone back to the drawing board, ahead of another primary slated for September 22.
The two incidents - tenure extension and dissolution of the last primary have as it were, affected the political arrangement in the state. First, the situation has thrown up more aspirants who could not make it when the whistle blew preparatory to the last primary. The new entrants are former Military Administrator of Oyo and Ondo States, Col. Ahmed Usman, Commissioner for Works, Abubakar Adama and his Science and Technology counterpart, Prof. Aaron Baba and Captain Idris Wada. Renowned journalist, Onukaba Adinoyi Ojo and former Minister for Interior, Humphrey Abba has also joined the race, bringing to 20 the number of aspirants who have so far indicated interest to contest on the platform of the PDP.
The party’s decision for a rerun of the primary may also affect the aspiration of the winner of the last election, Alhaji Echocho who source said will not return having fallen out with the incumbent Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris.
Echocho was believed to be the governor’s favoured candidate and has won the party’s primary in January before the judicial pronouncement extending the tenure of the incumbent.
His hope of clinching the ticket he earlier won in a keenly contested primary seems to hang in the balance following his alleged attempt to upstage his godfather while the war over the tenure of six governors who were affected by the governorship rerun rages. Echocho, source said, has favoured the idea that the tenure of the incumbent and his colleagues in the affected states should end to allow room for his emergence.
The deal was said to have been done through a front, who was a serving chairman in one of the local government areas in the Kogi east senatorial district. The former chairman who was also said to be close to the governor and run errands for him tried to switch allegiance towards Echocho who was highly favoured to be the next governor of the state.
The former chairman, source said, sold the idea of upstaging Idris to Echocho and he bought same and was asked by the aspirant to handle the project. The source said the plan somehow leaked to the governor. The development was said to have infuriated Idris who vowed to scuttle the governorship ambition of the former Afribank boss.
The governor, source said discreetly shopped for a replacement for his godson and had eventual settled for Captain Idris Wada. Wada was said to have been invited to Lokoja penultimate week and asked to prepare for the race. His collection of the party’s nomination form at the national secretariat of the party Wednesday, was a culmination of weeks of permutation by the power that be in the state.
The heavy presence of members of the Kogi State executive council, members of the state House of Assembly led by their speaker, Abdullahi Bello and members of the National Assembly from the state at the party’s national secretariat during the ceremony was indicative of the fact that the governor has switched support in the race for the Lugard House.
However, Echocho, it appeared, will not want to go down without a fight. At the national secretariat where Wada obtained his nomination form Wednesday, placard carrying youths under the aegis of ‘Kogi PDP Frontiers’ staged a peaceful protest against the decision of the party to conduct fresh governorship primary election in Kogi State.
The youths, who threatened to dump the party if it goes ahead with fresh primaries, stressed that the PDP will lose the state if it abandons the candidacy of Alhaji Echocho. Chairman of the group Comrade Johnson Musa, who addressed reporters on the proposed fresh gubernatorial primaries, described the decision of NWC as ‘unpopular and sentimental’. Musa said conducting another primary in Kogi State is an attempt to empower the opposition party and make the PDP to become unpopular in the state.
The decision of the national leadership of the party for a rerun of the primary earlier was also greeted with criticism with opponents of the move accusing the leadership of supporting a speculated attempt by Gov Idris to imposing “an unpopular candidate” on the people.
Party stakeholders such as Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Dollars had opposed the move for a rerun. “We want a situation whereby the party will go into election and win; we don’t want a situation whereby we will go into election with crises all over the places. This is because organising another primary in the state will amount to great losses and bruises which will not favour the party,” he said.
Supporters of the former Afribank boss have started regrouping for a showdown since the governor’s position become public and the ground for the impending onslaught is naturally the eastern senatorial district where the duo hailed from.
Analysts agree that the two have resources to prosecute the contest and also command some measure of followership in the zone. They are both from the same Dekina axis and are alumni of the same institution in the area, Government Secondary School, Dekina.
Echocho came into limelight when he became Afribank’s Managing Director where he was said to have touched the lives of many youth through employment in his bank. He is believed to enjoy the unwavering support of the youth who are likely to line up behind him in an election.
However, history has shown that a prospective aspirant to political position anywhere in Nigeria needs more than the support of the youths who may not belong to party caucuses and other affiliations to succeed.
With the death of his mother who is also women leader in her area, Echocho, many believed has lost his traditional support base, however the fallout with his godfather at a stage when he is yet to build a sustaining political base, many believe could be devastating to his new career.
Analysts also rule out his alignment with other aspirants to form a common front to enable him realise his ambition because of his closeness has distanced him. Unlike Echocho, the Captain’s father, Wada Ejiga is a renowned community leader and one of the power brokers in Dekina local government area. Many even believe that the influence of the retired Judge transcends the entire district and beyond and that this will go a long way in enhancing the fortune of his son during the impending battle.
Wada, a pilot and aviation consultant many believe, will also enjoy the support of stakeholders moreso having been around the political circle for a while.
As the September 22 date for the primary draws close, analysts believe Wada’s main concern are leading contenders like Alhaji Isah Kutepa, millionaire businessman and until the botched primary that produced Echocho, a close confidant of the governor; Prince Olusola Akanmode, former Chief of Staff to the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; AVM Salihu Atawodi; Chief Abiodun Ojo and Chief Bayo Ojo, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
The group has contested the emergence of candidate Echocho and the outcome of the primary that produced him. They had also fought and got the nod of the national headquarters for the conduct of fresh primary when INEC released time table for the election.
Others aspirants in the race included Idris’ deputy Philip Salawu, who is from the Central Senatorial district of the state, and the former Accountant – General of the State, Deacon Okpanachi Ubolo, and the Executive Director of Newswatch Communication Ltd., Yakubu Mohammed.
Another problem that Wada has to deal with is the opposition by a group under the aegis of Kogi Patriots to his emergence. The group hads dragged Wada to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a contract allegedly gotten by his company, Horizon Construction Company Limited.
They urged the anti-graft agency to avert a situation whereby the outgoing governor would handover to a contractor whose contract has defaulted in executing work in the state. However, Wada’s group has since dismissed the allegation as frivolous and untrue.
The group the allegation amounted to desperation by politicians who are afraid of going to the primary to test their popularity.
As it is, the impending contest in Kogi State barring any hiccups promises to be an interesting one as gladiators within the PDP will dig deep to outwit one another.
Articles
Kogi PDP primary : The crowd cometh again
Category: Sports Written by Ahmed Tahir Ajobe Hits: 667
Political activities in Kogi State recently picked with the pronouncement of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) setting out dates for the conduct of gubernatorial election in six states which enjoyed judicial extension of tenure of serving governors. The activities heightened further with the recent declaration by the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that fresh primaries will hold in the affected states of Edo, Kogi, Cross River, Bayelsa, Adamawa and Ondo.Since the party’s pronouncement jettisoning the last primary which was won by Alhaji Jibrin Isah Echocho, former Managing Director of Afribank now Mainstream Bank, various aspirants for the state’s top most seat and their strategists have gone back to the drawing board, ahead of another primary slated for September 22.
The two incidents - tenure extension and dissolution of the last primary have as it were, affected the political arrangement in the state. First, the situation has thrown up more aspirants who could not make it when the whistle blew preparatory to the last primary. The new entrants are former Military Administrator of Oyo and Ondo States, Col. Ahmed Usman, Commissioner for Works, Abubakar Adama and his Science and Technology counterpart, Prof. Aaron Baba and Captain Idris Wada. Renowned journalist, Onukaba Adinoyi Ojo and former Minister for Interior, Humphrey Abba has also joined the race, bringing to 20 the number of aspirants who have so far indicated interest to contest on the platform of the PDP.
The party’s decision for a rerun of the primary may also affect the aspiration of the winner of the last election, Alhaji Echocho who source said will not return having fallen out with the incumbent Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris.
Echocho was believed to be the governor’s favoured candidate and has won the party’s primary in January before the judicial pronouncement extending the tenure of the incumbent.
His hope of clinching the ticket he earlier won in a keenly contested primary seems to hang in the balance following his alleged attempt to upstage his godfather while the war over the tenure of six governors who were affected by the governorship rerun rages. Echocho, source said, has favoured the idea that the tenure of the incumbent and his colleagues in the affected states should end to allow room for his emergence.
The deal was said to have been done through a front, who was a serving chairman in one of the local government areas in the Kogi east senatorial district. The former chairman who was also said to be close to the governor and run errands for him tried to switch allegiance towards Echocho who was highly favoured to be the next governor of the state.
The former chairman, source said, sold the idea of upstaging Idris to Echocho and he bought same and was asked by the aspirant to handle the project. The source said the plan somehow leaked to the governor. The development was said to have infuriated Idris who vowed to scuttle the governorship ambition of the former Afribank boss.
The governor, source said discreetly shopped for a replacement for his godson and had eventual settled for Captain Idris Wada. Wada was said to have been invited to Lokoja penultimate week and asked to prepare for the race. His collection of the party’s nomination form at the national secretariat of the party Wednesday, was a culmination of weeks of permutation by the power that be in the state.
The heavy presence of members of the Kogi State executive council, members of the state House of Assembly led by their speaker, Abdullahi Bello and members of the National Assembly from the state at the party’s national secretariat during the ceremony was indicative of the fact that the governor has switched support in the race for the Lugard House.
However, Echocho, it appeared, will not want to go down without a fight. At the national secretariat where Wada obtained his nomination form Wednesday, placard carrying youths under the aegis of ‘Kogi PDP Frontiers’ staged a peaceful protest against the decision of the party to conduct fresh governorship primary election in Kogi State.
The youths, who threatened to dump the party if it goes ahead with fresh primaries, stressed that the PDP will lose the state if it abandons the candidacy of Alhaji Echocho. Chairman of the group Comrade Johnson Musa, who addressed reporters on the proposed fresh gubernatorial primaries, described the decision of NWC as ‘unpopular and sentimental’. Musa said conducting another primary in Kogi State is an attempt to empower the opposition party and make the PDP to become unpopular in the state.
The decision of the national leadership of the party for a rerun of the primary earlier was also greeted with criticism with opponents of the move accusing the leadership of supporting a speculated attempt by Gov Idris to imposing “an unpopular candidate” on the people.
Party stakeholders such as Alhaji Abdullahi Bello Dollars had opposed the move for a rerun. “We want a situation whereby the party will go into election and win; we don’t want a situation whereby we will go into election with crises all over the places. This is because organising another primary in the state will amount to great losses and bruises which will not favour the party,” he said.
Supporters of the former Afribank boss have started regrouping for a showdown since the governor’s position become public and the ground for the impending onslaught is naturally the eastern senatorial district where the duo hailed from.
Analysts agree that the two have resources to prosecute the contest and also command some measure of followership in the zone. They are both from the same Dekina axis and are alumni of the same institution in the area, Government Secondary School, Dekina.
Echocho came into limelight when he became Afribank’s Managing Director where he was said to have touched the lives of many youth through employment in his bank. He is believed to enjoy the unwavering support of the youth who are likely to line up behind him in an election.
However, history has shown that a prospective aspirant to political position anywhere in Nigeria needs more than the support of the youths who may not belong to party caucuses and other affiliations to succeed.
With the death of his mother who is also women leader in her area, Echocho, many believed has lost his traditional support base, however the fallout with his godfather at a stage when he is yet to build a sustaining political base, many believe could be devastating to his new career.
Analysts also rule out his alignment with other aspirants to form a common front to enable him realise his ambition because of his closeness has distanced him. Unlike Echocho, the Captain’s father, Wada Ejiga is a renowned community leader and one of the power brokers in Dekina local government area. Many even believe that the influence of the retired Judge transcends the entire district and beyond and that this will go a long way in enhancing the fortune of his son during the impending battle.
Wada, a pilot and aviation consultant many believe, will also enjoy the support of stakeholders moreso having been around the political circle for a while.
As the September 22 date for the primary draws close, analysts believe Wada’s main concern are leading contenders like Alhaji Isah Kutepa, millionaire businessman and until the botched primary that produced Echocho, a close confidant of the governor; Prince Olusola Akanmode, former Chief of Staff to the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; AVM Salihu Atawodi; Chief Abiodun Ojo and Chief Bayo Ojo, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
The group has contested the emergence of candidate Echocho and the outcome of the primary that produced him. They had also fought and got the nod of the national headquarters for the conduct of fresh primary when INEC released time table for the election.
Others aspirants in the race included Idris’ deputy Philip Salawu, who is from the Central Senatorial district of the state, and the former Accountant – General of the State, Deacon Okpanachi Ubolo, and the Executive Director of Newswatch Communication Ltd., Yakubu Mohammed.
Another problem that Wada has to deal with is the opposition by a group under the aegis of Kogi Patriots to his emergence. The group hads dragged Wada to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a contract allegedly gotten by his company, Horizon Construction Company Limited.
They urged the anti-graft agency to avert a situation whereby the outgoing governor would handover to a contractor whose contract has defaulted in executing work in the state. However, Wada’s group has since dismissed the allegation as frivolous and untrue.
The group the allegation amounted to desperation by politicians who are afraid of going to the primary to test their popularity.
As it is, the impending contest in Kogi State barring any hiccups promises to be an interesting one as gladiators within the PDP will dig deep to outwit one another.