The uproar over the controversial election of Darius Ishaku as the 2015 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Taraba State is not about to abate any time soon, reports Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo
FOR the almost two years that Alhaji Garba Umar, presided over the reins of Taraba State, albeit in an acting capacity, as a result of the incapacitation of his boss, Governor Danbaba Suntai, some powerful forces in the state never hid their resentment towards him.
For these forces, Umar was nothing more than an “impostor” that must be kicked out of office.
Throughout the period he served as Acting Governor, Umar was buffeted from all sides by loyalists of Suntai, who made several spirited attempts to return the ailing governor back to office, all to no avail.
From orchestrating Suntai’s return to the country from medical trips, allegedly against medical advice to resume duties, first in 2014 and the latest a few months ago, the governor’s loyalists left no one in doubt that they were determined not to leave anything to chance in checkmating Umar.
The acting governor’s traducers became more emboldened in their schemes once it became apparent that Umar was consolidating his grip on power in the absence of Suntai by taking effective control of both the party and government machinery in his quest to emerge as governor in the 2015 general elections.
But in an unexpected twist to the power play in Taraba, the Supreme Court sacked Umar in its ruling over a case brought before it by Sani Abubakar Danladi, who was impeached as deputy governor by the state House of Assembly after falling out with Suntai in 2012.
The Supreme Court had ruled that Danladi’s removal was illegal and did not follow due process and that he should be reinstated as deputy governor. But with Suntai’s continued absence as a result of his ill health, Danladi was sworn-in as Acting Governor, a development that has altered the equations of the 2015 succession battle in the state.
With several conspiracy theories still being adduced to the ouster of Umar from office, attention quickly shifted to the battle for the 2015 PDP governorship ticket, as several political gladiators in the state indicated their interest in the seat.
How Ishaku emerged at PDP primary
After five days of delay, following controversy over zoning and list of delegates, the PDP governorship primary finally held, not in Jalingo, the state capital, but within the confines of the party’ national headquarters in Abuja.
Earlier, some Taraba PDP leaders and stakeholders had informed the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, of an agreement allegedly signed in 2011 by PDP leaders in the state that Taraba South Senatorial District would produce the PDP candidate in 2015.
According to them, Taraba North had served for a total of 10 years, while Taraba Central, where the incumbent Governor Dambaba Suntai hails from, will complete eight years in power in 2015.
Muazu had also reportedly met with the PDP leaders who gave him a copy of the resolution to furnish him with the minutes of the meeting where the zoning arrangement was reached.
He assured that the PDP national leadership would respect the decision of Taraba people since “zoning is local.”
Predictably, holding the primary in Abuja did not go down well with some governorship aspirants who alleged that it was all part of a script to foist Darius Ishaku, the immediate past Minister of State for Niger Delta as the governorship candidate.
But more shockers were to come when reports filtered out that former Acting Governor, Garba Umar, and a few others had stepped down for Ishaku in the spirit of the zoning policy by party leaders.
This claim was however punctured with the reported large presence of Umar’s supporters at the venue of the primary election, but who were denied entry by security operatives. At the end of the exercise, Ishaku scored 170 votes to emerge as winner.
But signs that all was not well with the Taraba PDP soon emerged after a press statement was issued by the Garba Umar Campaign Organisation to condemn the process that produced Ishaku as the party’s governorship candidate.
The statement read in part: “We have always believed that the PDP offers the best option for the promotion and institutionalisation of democratic ideals and granting its members a level playing field for the attainment of their political aspirations. However, the events of last one week signals a very disturbing and disappointing development to the effect that some filth columnists have infiltrated the party, threatening its very existence.
“As the leading political party in Nigeria, PDP has a well articulated and written constitution and guidelines for nomination of candidates for elections into the various elective positions in the country. These guidelines are also approved by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) based on the Electoral Act.
“In accordance with these guidelines, primaries for nomination of candidates of the party for House of Assembly, National Assembly and governors should hold in all states of the federation, while national delegates, elected by state delegates, are to elect the President at the centre.
“We are aware that these guidelines had been strictly followed in all the other 35 states except Taraba State. Since last December 8, 2014, when the process started in other states, our members in Taraba State had waited endlessly for the primaries, to no avail.
“Instead, various stories, rumours and hearsay were being bandied, until on Friday, December 12, 2014, when the primaries were suddenly moved to Abuja. There was no crisis anywhere in the state, especially Jalingo, the state capital where the primaries were scheduled to hold.
“There was no tension or open threat against the primaries except the well known struggle to sabotage the exercise by one of the aspirants. But the court threw out the suit and affirmed the delegates as properly elected, with certification to this effect by the national secretariat of the party and INEC, which are constitutionally empowered to monitor the delegates’ elections.
“It is, therefore, inexplicable that the primaries will be unconstitutionally and unilaterally moved to Abuja without any reason; just to satisfy some vested interests. It is also regrettable to note that during the so-called primaries at the Wadata House, the delegates were harassed and denied entry and had to sleep at the gates, while the allocation of votes were going on inside on the pretext of carrying out primary elections.
“Two governorship aspirants, Chief David Sabo Kente and Ambassador Musa John left the venue in protest when it became apparent that the results of the primaries had already been determined.”
Danjuma’s preference for Ishaku
Weeks before the PDP primary held, Ishaku had allegedly received the endorsement of former Defense Minister, General TY Danjuma as the sole candidate of Taraba-South Senatorial Zone.
Shortly after Ishaku resigned as minister to contest the PDP governorship ticket, Danjuma had allegedly convened a meeting of all the aspirants from the Taraba Southern Zone where he called on them to sheath their ambitions for Ishaku.
The endorsement, according to sources, created a lot of bad blood, as most of the aspirants and stakeholders from the zone viewed it as undemocratic and against the principles of equity and fairness.
The controversy that trailed Ishaku’s endorsement had raised fears that the Southern Senatorial Zone might again scuttle the quest for power shift to the zone, which stakeholders from the zone have been yearning for over the years.
From the inception of Taraba State in 1991, the people of the Southern zone, comprising Wukari, Ibi, Donga, Ussa and Takum local government areas, have been agitating to produce the state governor, a dream that is yet to materialise.
Analysts say this is because there is lack of unity among politicians from the zone as they often fail to speak with one voice when it comes to the issue of producing an acceptable consensus candidate.
This lack of unity has, no doubt, given the Northern and Central senatorial zones political advantage over the southern zone.
The Northern zone produced Rev. Jolly Nyame, who served as governor of the state for two terms between 1999 and 2007, while Danbaba Suntai from the Central Zone was elected governor in 2007 and is currently serving his second term in office.
Between Ishaku and Kente
Towards actualising power shift to the Southern zone, The Nation gathered that political stakeholders from the zone held series of meetings in Takum, Wukari and Donga local government areas with a view to fostering unity and understanding amongst aspirants from the zone.
Early in 2013, the stakeholders set up a body known as Southern Taraba Senate, charged with the responsibility of promoting peace and giving political direction for the zone.
The body, which membership was drawn from the five local government areas of the zone, is made up of elders and elite with an elder statesman, Chief Stephen Nyapuri, as its chairman.
It was learnt that influential personalities such as General T. Y Danjuma, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, Chief David Sabo Kente, Damian Dodo, Darius Ishaku and several others supported the setting up of this body and also advised that religious leaders should be included in the body.
In order to produce a consensus candidate that will run for the governorship seat from the zone, the group held a meeting with all those aspiring for the number one seat of the state from the zone and requested for the mandate to screen all the aspirants and come out with a consensus candidate for the zone.
Before the setting up of the body, there were 13 aspirants from the zone under the PDP, comprising four aspirants from Wukari; four from Donga; three from Takum and one each from Ussa and Ibi local government areas.
At a grand ceremony in Wukari, headquarters of the local government, on March 7, 2014, the Southern Senators Forum announced Chief David Sabo Kente as the consensus candidate to represent the zone.
Nyapuri said the decision to endorse the candidature of Kente was based on his track record of achievements, especially having used his foundation – the DSK Foundation – to touch millions of lives positively across the state and beyond.
Nyapuri said: “There are over five aspirants in Southern Taraba, who are also good, but Kente stands out very clearly among them. He is a symbol of humility, a philanthropist and is courageous.”
With the endorsement of Chief David Sabo Kente, many were optimistic that the disunity amongst the numerous ethnic groups from the zone which has been robbing the zone of producing a governor for the state over the years had been put to rest.
But last month’s endorsement of Ishaku by Danjuma has drawn condemnation from some political stakeholders from the zone who are of the belief that Kente was a more popular candidate who will be saleable to the people of both North and Central zones.
To some of the Southern stakeholders, the endorsement of Ishaku by Danjuma has more to do with satisfying the interest of his kinsmen than the overall aspirations of the people of the zone.
An aggrieved political stakeholder from the zone said: “If I may ask, why does Danjuma always select from Takum and his kinsmen alone? Danjuma nominated Chief Obadiah Ando from Takum to contest for governorship twice and lost.
“He nominated the same Ando as minister and he was appointed Minister for Water Resources during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration and he again nominated him during Jonathan’s regime, but he was rejected by members of the National Assembly from the zone and when that failed, Danjuma replaced him with Ishaku, also from Takum.”
Jonathan’s deal with Ishaku
Sources disclosed that Ishaku’s emergence was allegedly sanctioned by the Presidency in deference to Danjuma, who reportedly sold his candidature to President Goodluck Jonathan.
The President, it was learnt, was careful not to “offend” the retired general after having fallen out with ex-President Obasanjo, who has not hidden his opposition to his re-election in 2015.
“The President could not afford to have Obasanjo and Danjuma antagonising him and that was why he had to throw his weight behind Ishaku,” said a former top aide of acting governor Umar.
Umar spurns Senate offer
At a recent meeting held at the Presidential Villa, sources disclosed that Jonathan allegedly told Garba Umar, who until his removal from office was the man to beat for the PDP ticket, how he had been put under intense pressure to back Ishaku.
To placate his guest, he allegedly told him that the Taraba North senatorial ticket was his for the asking, but much to the President’s surprise, Umar told him that he needed to consult widely before deciding his next political move.
The case against Ishaku
Besides his alleged imposition by the Presidency, sources say Ishaku’s opponents are kicking against his candidacy on the premise that he is not known in Taraba.
Ishaku, they further allege, is not abreast of the development in the state and lacks the knowledge to govern the state.
“PDP would be making a mistake if it insists on Ishaku,” warned a source, who added, “Here is a man who does not know the number of local governments in the state. Here is a man who was born, schooled and worked in Kaduna State until his appointment as minister. Here is a man who does not have a house in Taraba State and is not known here.”
It however remains to be seen whether Ishaku would surmount the many obstacles before him and emerge as Danbaba Suntai’s successor in 2015.
