Before 2015, Jigawa could at best be described as a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stronghold. But in 2015, the then newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC) won the governorship seat in a keenly contested gubernatorial election. Governor Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, the candidate of the APC defeated Aminu Ibrahim Ringim of the PDP to usher in the APC as the ruling party in the state.
The 2019 elections confirmed the state’s status as an APC. The party convincingly won the presidential and gubernatorial elections across the state. Abubakar won re-election by wide margins and all the three senatorial seats in the state were cornered by the APC. The party also won all House of Representatives seat as well as all available House of Assembly slots.
Many analysts believe the governor, who will not be seeking re-election in 2023, has further strengthened the ruling party with his performance since 2015. He has focused on youth empowerment, human development and social services. He has also been praised for his financial prudence. But he has severally been accused of frequent trips outside the state by the critics of his administration.
Expectedly, many people believe that his interest in who succeeds him will play a vital role in determining the political future of the state ahead of 2023. Amidst calls on him to reveal his preferred successor, the governor had constantly said that he has “no power to impose or to anoint my successor.”
He insists that Jigawa belongs to the people and they own the sole right to choose their next governor. Badaru said he was elected by the people for two terms and as he is about to finish his tenure, he hopes that his successor would be a person of integrity, honesty and patriotism to continue with his good works.
“The choice of my successor is left for the people of the state. My wish is that the next governor must be somebody who is fair-minded, a good listener and above all, who will continue with the good work we have started. My prayer is that, we get somebody who is humble, have the fear of Allah in him and who will continue from where we will stop and who will listen to the people like we do,” Badaru stated.
This is just as the opposition PDP insists it is now ready to return to government in the state. Leaders of the party says the people are tired of the APC administration and are yearning for the type of leadership offered by former Governor Sule Lamido, who remains the leader of the party in the state. But obsevers say the PDP needs to put its house in order if it is truly desirous of winning the governorship election in 2023.
Zoning
The race to the 2023 governorship election in the state is not without some debate over which zone should produce the next governor of the state. Form the record, the central and north-western zones of the state have produced all the governors of the state since its creation more than 30 years ago. The Jigawa North-East is yet to produce a governor for the state. Understandably, there is a clamour for the zone to be allowed to take its shot at the post in 2023.
The state’s first elected governor during the short-lived third republic, from 1991 to1993, Ali Sa’ad, hailed from Birnin Kudu in the Central Senatorial District. He didn’t complete the four year term as the palace coup spearheaded by the late General Sani Abacha on November 17, 1993, in the heat of the annulled June 12 election, truncated that republic.
The second elected governor, Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, who was elected governor of the state on the return of democracy in1999 till 2007, is a native of Kazaure in the north-west. The third elected governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, who led the state from 2007 to 2015, is also from Birnin Kudu in the Central, while the incumbent, Badaru, is from Babura in Jigawa north-west.
Stakeholders across the state are sharply divided about the propriety or otherwise of zoning the governorship slot to Jigawa north-east zone in 2023, being the only zone that has not produced the governor of the state. In spite of mounting agitations by leaders of the zone, groups and individuals from the other two zones have refused to see any reason why the race should not be thrown open for all aspirants irrespective of where they come from.
But promotes of the zoning arrangement believe that allowing the north-east zone would ensure fairness and justice and will engender a sense of belonging in the zone. The agitators in the zone are not resting on their oars as they have declared that only a party that fields one of their own will get the votes of the people of the zone in 2023.
Analysts say it may not be an empty threat given the voting population of the zone. But those opposed to zoning, especially aspirants from the other two zones eyeing the seat in 2023, are of the opinion that restricting the slot to the Hadeija zone alone will not ensure that the very best candidates emerge for the people to choose from during the governorship election next year.
Aspirants
Already, some aspirants are getting ready to do battle, first at the primary elections of their various political parties later this year, and if successful at that stage, confront the candidates of the other political parties at the general election early next year.
Opposition PDP
Mustapha Sule Lamido, son of former Jigawa state governor, is one aspirant who has picked the governorship nomination form of the PDP. Mustapha was the first politician in Jigawa to formally join the 2023 gubernatorial race. Addressing his supporters at his Dutse, Jigawa residence, Lamido said he took the decision to contest the election after due consultation with stakeholders and party stalwarts across the state. Analysts say the young Lamido looks good to pick the PDP ticket.
“With his father’s influence and structures within the party, he is surely a front runner for the ticket. And if gets the PDP ticket, he stands a good chance of giving the ruling party a good fight.
His recent endorsement by the Forum of former Local Government Chairmen in the state threw the party into crisis. Rising from a meeting in Gumel, Gumel Local Government Area, the Forum announced the endorsement of the younger Lamido’s gubernatorial bid. The communique of the meeting was read by the secretary of the forum, Alhaji Musa Abdullahi Karkarna. The members gave their blessing to his governorship aspiration because he is not only young, but also capable of addressing the challenges besetting the state.
“Apart from being well-educated, he also has a strong mind; he is very sincere and an obedient party member. So, we believe he can do the job. Given the foregoing, we are calling on this intellectual youth and gentleman in the person of Mustapha Lamido to come out and contest for the governorship ticket of our great party, the PDP,” the communiqué read in party. Analysts have been saying the outcome of that meeting is responsible for the cautious approach being exhibited in the governorship race by other aspirants. “There is the fear that our leader, Sule Lamido is determined to give the ticket to his son. That is why others are reluctant to obtain the nomination form,” a source claimed.
This thinking must be the reason why some chieftains of the party and other stakeholders are opposing the ambition of Lamido. They claimed the endorsement is an undue advantage over other aspirants. The Forum, they insist, has always been loyal to the Lamido political family. They warned the leadership of the PDP in the state of dire consequences should the younger Lamido be handed the
ticket. Some of them insisted that the party should respect the zoning arrangement and cede the party’s ticket to the northeast zone.
But to the supports of the youthful governorship aspirant, Mustapha, who is the Santuraki of Dutse, is qualified in all ramifications to vie for the seat. “He has the constitutional right to contest any position in the party, by virtue of his being an active member of the PDP. Democracy is a system that gives every individual the opportunity to play his card, irrespective of his tribal or parental lineage. According to the tenants of democracy, Mustapha can contest the same position with his father in the same party or under a different party. This is not a sin; so, if his father was a governor and today he is also qualified to contest that position, no one has the power to deny him such right. Therefore his endorsement for the PDP governorship ticket is in order.”
Among the other aspirants believed to be set for a showdown with the Lamidos ahead of the PDP primary election is Alhaji Aminu Ibrahim Ringim. He was the PDP governorship candidate in the 2015 and the 2019 elections. he insists the endorsement was designed to shut out other likely contenders and subvert the process of having a level-playing field.
Another aspirant is Dr. Nuruddeen Muhammad, a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs under the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s administration between 2011 and 2015 joining the race. Muhammad was also the Supervising Minister at the Federal Ministry of Information, Culture and National Orientation before he resigned from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to contest as the running mate to the PDP governorship candidate in the 2015 general election.
Bashiru Adamu was also in the race. He was the gubernatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 2019. After losing the election, he dumped the party for the PDP in 2020 with his supporters. He is believed to be interested in the PDP ticket. But it is not clear if he picked the nomination form as at oppress time.
APC
The ruling APC in Jigawa state said its development projects in the last seven years were more than enough to make it remain in power after the 2023 elections. Chieftain of the party, Alhaji Aminu Sani, made the declaration while speaking with newsmen in Dutse. Sani insisted that the APC, having fulfilled all the promises made in 2015 and 2019 electioneering across the country, would remain the favourite of the majority.
“With this, there will be no vacancy for a failed party like Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023 in Jigawa and the country in general,” he said. He added that APC under Governor Muhammad Badaru’s administration had succeeded in executing at least a project in each polling ward in the 27 Local Government Areas of the state. Sani said that the state government had from 2015 to date empowered more than 250,000 youths, including housewives, through various schemes in its efforts toward eradicating poverty and wealth creation.
He maintained that the APC-led administration had transformed the state and made it a reference point in terms of good governance, agricultural transformation, human development, peace and progress. Expectedly, the party is not lacking in potential gubernatorial candidates. But not one of them has officially declared interest in the race for the party’s ticket s at press time. Nonetheless, there are a lot of speculations about a number of the party’s chieftains allegedly nursing guber ambitions.
As such, pundits say that the unusual political silence in the state is due to a seeming political culture where incumbents or influential political figures single-handedly pick their successors in the state. “Badaru is the party leader in the state and he has total control over the party structures. So whoever wants to get the party ticket must remain loyal and wait for his directives,” a source said. In spite of the political silence in the party, some names have been popping up as APC chieftains waiting to declare their governorship ambitions once the coast is clearer. Some of them, it was gathered, have been going round the state consulting groups and individuals on their aspirations.
Farouk Adamu Aliyu, a former House of Representatives member for Buji/Birnin Kudu between 2003 and 2007 is one of such. He was also the Minority Leader of the lower chamber. Also being touted for the job is Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, the current Senator for Jigawa North who was the Deputy Governor of the state between 2003 and 2007. He was Secretary to the State Government from 2001 to 2003, and state Attorney-General from 1999 to 2001. He is favoured by the current clamour for zoning.
Umar Namadi, the incumbent Deputy Governor, is also believed to be interested in the APC ticket and so is Mohammed Sabo Nakudu, the current Senator for Jigawa South-West who represented Buji/Birnin Kudu in the House of Representatives till 2015. Danladi Abdullahi Sankara, the Senator for Jigawa North-West and a former House of Representatives member for Gagarawa/Gumel/Maigatari/Sule Tankarkar from 1999 to 2003, is also being mentioned as part of the potential gubernatorial aspirants on the platform of the APC.