As the electorate
in Kaduna State go to the polls today to elect their next governor and
members of the state House of Assembly, everyone is anxious to know who
will emerge as the next occupant of Sir Kasim Ibrahim House, the
state’s seat of power.
The incumbent,
Patrick Yakowa, who is contesting on the platform of the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP), is battling it out with about nine other
candidates, but his major challenger is Haruna Sahe’ed, the candidate
of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). Curiously, nothing much
is heard of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) candidate, Muktar
Aruwa, and the other six.
Mr Yakowa was
sworn-in as governor of Kaduna State following the elevation of his
former boss, Namadi Sambo, as vice president when the death of
President Umaru Musa Yar’adua created a vacuum at the presidency last
year.
Both Messrs Yakowa
and Sahe’ed have been in government for many years and have served the
state in many capacities. Mr Yakowa was deputy governor of Kaduna State
when Haruna Sahe’ed was the Accountant General of the state and both of
them worked closely.
The CPC challenged
the ruling PDP when it swept almost all the contested National Assembly
seats and also emerged victorious in the presidential election in the
state. The two victories no doubt created panic in Mr Yakowa who
reportedly started removing some of his personal belongings from the
government house and also reminded his aides to get prepared to leave
in case his bid to get re-elected fails.
Tough for CPC
But the
post-election crisis in the state allegedly caused by the supporters of
the party’s presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, on April 17,
seems to indicate that the CPC, which was almost coasting to the final
victory in the state, may face a fierce battle with the PDP in today’s
governorship election. Already, Mr Yakowa is using the postponement of
Kaduna election to see how he could reverse the tide that has given him
sleepless nights.
One major factor
which may likely affect CPC’s chances of grabbing the governorship seat
will be due to mass exodus of people out of the state and fear of being
attacked during the election. This could lead to voter apathy.
While the party
still boasts of defeating PDP in today’s election, it was gathered that
majority of its members in protest that Mr Buhari lost the presidential
election, burnt their voters registration cards during the crisis. This
will definitely disenfranchise many supporters of the party.
Though the CPC is
still happy about the victories it recorded in the two previous
elections, findings by NEXT revealed that Mr Yakowa is not leaving any
stone unturned to ensure that he remains the occupant of the government
house. And like a wounded lion, it was alleged that he has reached out
to those that may be instrumental to his victory in the state.
Mr Sahe’ed’s
campaign seems to be suffering a setback. The party has come under
severe threat of disunity following the post-election crisis. A group
of members from the southern part had threatened to back out from his
campaign last week. Their grouse was that Mr Sahe’ed supported the
action of the CPC supporters who allegedly instigated the violent
protest that eventually claimed several lives.
A leader of the PDP
in the state, Sani Ali, said that the party would emerge victorious in
tomorrow’s election because Mr Yakowa had reconciled with all the
aggrieved members of the party including his arch rival in the party’s
primary, Suleiman Hunkuyi.
He further said
that the peace accord initiated by the governor has paid off, as all
the stakeholders have agreed to work for the victory of PDP in the
state.
NEXT was reliably
informed that Mr Yakowa was still meeting with various groups and
stakeholders as at press time, promising to involve them in his
government if eventually re-elected.
According to inside
sources, the campaign has received the blessing of President Goodluck
Jonathan who was said to have mandated his vice, Mr Sambo, to provide
Mr Yakowa with the required support. Mr Sambo, on his part, is not
leaving anything to chance to ensure that the PDP retains Kaduna.
Despite the fact
that the governorship contest in Kaduna is along religious and tribal
lines, Sani Mohamed, an indigene of Zaria, said Mr Yakowa still enjoyed
the support of many Muslims from the northern part of the state. He
condemned the text messages being circulated by a group, Muslim League,
asking Muslims to vote for the Action Congress of Nigeria governorship
candidate, Sani Sha’aban, describing such messages as divisive and
destructive.
Non-indigene factor
In spite of the
crisis which has created fear among the electorate, the non-indigenes
in the state have expressed their determination to come out en meass to
cast their vote in today’s elections.
In a statement
issued by Augustine Amaechi, the leader and president general of Igbo
Community Welfare Association, all non-indigenes in Kaduna State were
instructed to come out to vote for candidates of their choice. He
assured them of government’s preparedness to provide adequate security
during and after the elections.
The non-indigenes,
who are mainly Christians, were instrumental to the good result by the
PDP at the presidential election and Mr Yakowa is desperately counting
on their votes for his reelection as governor of the state.
At one of the
meetings summoned by Mr Sahe’ed, the CPC governorship candidate,he told
those in attendance that the days of Mr Yakowa in the government house
were numbered. He was quoted as saying that the good showing his party
recorded in the past two elections and the support he was getting from
the Muslim community were pointers that he was going to emerge as
governor.
Even though the
election is yet to be conducted, Mr Sahe’ed was reported to have gone
ahead to allocate positions to his supporters and formulate policies
that he would use to govern the state.
While the power
play between the CPC and PDP deepens, some political pundits said other
less fancied political parties might exploit the opportunity to capture
the exalted seat, just as it happened in Imo State when Ikedi Ohakim
emerged governor from an obscure party.
By and large, many
believe that Mr Yakowa stands a better chance of being re-elected,
especially with the assistance of President Goodluck Jonathan who just
got a four-year fresh mandate.
Also, having
performed well within the few months he came into office, analysts
opined that the electorate may vote for him for continuity.
