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Tag: Darius Ishaku

  • Governor Darius Ishaku’s unparalleled leadership in Taraba

    Governor Darius Ishaku’s unparalleled leadership in Taraba

    Unfortunately for ex-Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State, the plane crash accident which he miraculously survived from in 2012 led to his forceful sojourn outside the shores of Nigeria for medical assistance. Suntai’s long absence from home backfired when several political interests and forces in Taraba sprang up to make a point about the future of the state vis-a-vis the non-availability of the then democratically elected governor.

    Taraba State became constantly rolling on the national headlines when the frail looking, visibly unfit and tired Danbaba Suntai was made to return to Jalingo, supposedly to prove to doubting stakeholders that he could take back his exalted position. In the end, Suntai could not take over, obviously because the helicopter crash had mercilessly messed up his health and in the process he lost grip on power. One event led to the other, cropping up situation that engulfed the state, soaking it into needless political tension, bad blood and civil unrest.

    To put it in proper terms peace gradually eluded the state as pro-Suntai supporters and other political interest groups retreated into the ugly theatre of hatred and bitterness; as the then Acting Governor did not help matters because of his own peculiar selfish agenda. Then, in December 2014, a former university lecturer, ex-minister of state for Niger Delta affairs and a pragmatic politician having studied the unpleasant political situation in Taraba State decided to dare into the murky governorship race, in order to make a positive impact.

    Darius Dickson Ishaku had to abandon his lucrative political job by resigning from the ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s Federal Executive Council to slug it out with other aspirants, first within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). When architect  Darius Ishaku eventually travelled to Jalingo to obtain the PDP nomination form to indicate his absolute seriousness about his governorship ambition, he did not hesitate to declare thus: ‘‘What I intend to do is to change things. We want to bring back peace. We have to do things that would be of benefit to the state. We have to redirect things”.

    As a trained urban town planner, Darius Ishaku brought his vast experience to bear on his governorship aspiration. Before long, his mantra became: “Give me peace. I will give you development”. Because he had carefully studied the delicate situation on the ground in Taraba, he instantly won the hearts of his supporters within his party and his message of peace and development  became a tonic for universal acceptability, as he was eventually made the flag bearer in the April 11th Governorship Election.

    It was not surprising when the tested architect succeeded in winning the 2015 Taraba State Governorship Election in grand style, in the face of stiff opposition from Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan, popularly known as ‘Mama Taraba’. ‘Mama Taraba’ (now Minister for Women Affairs), is indeed a big political tiger who immediately took on Darius Ishaku. She claimed that he was not dully elected as the flag bearer of PDP in Taraba State for the 2015 Governorship Election. She asked the court to declared her as the authentic Governor of the State instead.

    Governor Ishaku, like a political Daniel fought the battle of his political life down to the nation’s apex court (Supreme Court), where the Justice Bode Rhodes-Viviour, leading other Supreme Court panelists in 2016 affirmed the earlier judgment of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court ruled that he was the true winner and elected Governor of Taraba State in the 2015 Taraba State Governorship Election. For a politician who had campaigned vigorously and indefatigably that he would replace crisis ridden Taraba with economic development if he was elected, the ultimate judicial clearance which he got from the Supreme Court against the All Progressives Congress’(APC) Senator Aisha Alhassan ,has afforded him the greatest opportunity to implement his  avowed message of ‘peace and development’.

    Given the extreme political currents, suspense and tension that were released across the polity while Mama Taraba was battling Governor Ishaku within the judiciary, it must be credited to the Presidency under Muhammadu Buhari, who unlike previous occupants of Aso Rock Presidential Palace, refused to manipulated ‘things’ to work in favour of a staunch member of the APC. Even as Governor Ishaku’s electoral fate was still being looked at within the first week of his assuming office in May 2015, he started tackling the perennial water scarcity in the capital city of Jalingo by releasing funds to the Taraba State Water Supply Agency.

    It is pathetic to state that Jalingo was without water for about ten months, but with prompt repairs of equipments and adequate refurbishment of existing facilities, dried taps hurriedly started to gush out with water in 2015. Governor Ishaku wasting no time extended the ‘running tap scheme’ to places like Pampetel, Garin Sule, Madashi, Bashom, Mishali and Bashin, where multiple bore holes were sunk for the people. Jalingo Motor Park and the Mechanic Village that experienced lack of water earlier were included in the ‘water rain’. With clever collaboration with the Africa Development Bank (AFDB), extension of water pipelines are being constructed and finalised in the entire State.

    Through partnership with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees ( UNHCR) and UNIDO the Lunga Nuri Hydro Electricity has been brought to life, which is now serving Kakara community. The resultant effect is that small scale businesses have sprouted in the area and adjoining suburb. A few months ago, Governor Darius Ishaku released N300 million to PW Nigeria Limited, and that has necessitated the opening up of the Ball-Serti-Gembu road that leads to the famous Chappal Wali Mountain Height (highest in the Federal Republic of Nigeria); Gashaka Gumti National Park (largest games reserve in West Africa); Mambila Plateau High Land Tea (the only Tea Plantation in West Africa).

    Not done yet, the governor has provided gigantic transformer with installed capacity of 7.5 megawatts in Wukari Business District, with 50 pieces of transformers also put to use across the state. Jalingo now enjoys 18 megawatts of electricity, thanks to the positive engagements the current State Government had with officials of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

    Taraba State Road Construction Maintenance Agency (TARCMA) has been repositioned also. The implication of this is that several roads/bridges are being built in the state by this agency. The Mambila Beverages Production Company has been revived.

    The current administration’s efforts in the area of Internally Generated Revenue is commendable with modern technological devises/facilities put in place to block previous leakages/corruption. This has impacted positively on the economic activities, most especially in the Mambila Plateau area.

    The present conducive political situation is encouraging investors to Taraba to engage in tourism, industrialisation, mining, agricultural activities etc. Above all, ‘peace’ which was one of the cardinal points which Governor Darius Ishaku promised in 2014 when indicating his interest to govern the people of Taraba has returned to the state.

    For the first time in the history of the state, Governor Ishaku succeeded in holding a peace meeting with people of Wukari and Takum; peace/security related meetings have being held (still) being carried out among communities/stakeholders in the grassroots/local governments areas with traditional rulers fully represented.

    Who says this state created on August 27th 1991 by General Ibrahim Babangida has not come of age with an urban town planner conveniently seated as the number one citizen? Who says this Fellow of Nigerian Institute of Architect (FNIA) and Member of Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (MNITP) is not touching lives in Taraba with his daring positive people oriented mantra and unparalleled leadership?

    If you ask me, Architect Darius Dickson Ishaku has done well so far, and should be encouraged in any way possible never to deviate from his avowed peaceful strategy.

     

  • Taraba gov dispute: Supreme Court judgment for 1:30pm

    The Supreme Court is expected to deliver judgment at 1:30pm today (Thursday)  in the Taraba State governorship dispute.
    The candidate of the All Progressives Party (PDP) in the last election, Hajia Aisha Jumai Al-Hassan (now Minister of Women Affairs) is challenging the return of Darius Ishaku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
    Al-Hassan won at the tribunal, but her victory was overturned by the Court of Appeal, Abuja, a decision she appealed to the Supreme Court.
    On Thursday  morning, a seven-man bench, led by Justice Ibrahim Galadima took arguments from parties on the appeal and reserved decision till 1:30pm
  • Taraba: Court upholds Ishaku’s appeal

    Taraba: Court upholds Ishaku’s appeal

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Thursday invalidated the verdict of Taraba State governorship election petition tribunal which nullified the victory of Governor Darius Ishaku in the April 11 governorship election in the state, saying the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Aisha Alhassan, had no locus standi to question the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) conduct of its governorship primaries.

    A five- man panel led by Justice Abdul Aboki ruled that the PDP fielded Ishaku and he was accepted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Although the court admitted the testimony of the INEC officer, who testified that the PDP primaries violated sections 85 and 87 of the electoral law, it held that the APC had no locus standi on the matter.

     

  • Ishaku proposes N68.8 billion for 2016 budget 

    Ishaku proposes N68.8 billion for 2016 budget 

    Taraba State Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku Wednesday presented to the State House of Assembly a budget of sixty eight billion and one hundred and ten million naira (N68.8 bn) for the fiscal year 2016.

    Ishaku called the appropriation bill “The Rescue Budget.”

    He said he prepared the budget bearing in mind “the realities of times.” “We can only spend what we have; our projections are conservative and based on what we feel are more certain to accrue within the 2016 fiscal period.”

    A breakdown of the rescue budget has recurrent expenditure of N42.7 billion, representing 62.10 percent, and a capital expenditure of N26 billion, representing 37.90 percent of the budget.

    The governor is expecting fiscal projections from the traditional revenues of the federal statutory allocations of N35.8 billion, Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) of N5.3 billion, Value Added Tax (VAT) of N8.6 billion, Aids and Grants N5.3 billion, proposed internal loan of N12 billion and external loan draw down of N1.4 billion.

    Ishaku told The Nation that his priority would be in the areas of agriculture, health and peace.

    Housing and urban development carried the lion share of N4.8 billion, followed by skills and knowledge enhancement programme with N3.4 billion and governance with N3.4 billion.

    Agriculture carried N2.3 billion, health N2.9 billion while roads construction and transportation carried N2.4 billion.

    From the bottom of the expenditure is poverty alleviation with N100 million, youth empowerment with N235.8 million, private sector N297 million, gender empowerment N350 million and airways with N500 million.

    The governor disclosed he has directed that a strategic framework for the implementation of his rescue agenda manifesto be developed between now and the end of February 2016, to serve as the basis for the annual budgets of the state from now to 2019.

    To remain focus on the implementation of the agenda, Ishaku said the framework will be linked with the state’s cash flow.

    He added that all the local councils affected by civil unrest in the past years will be given due consideration.

    “Though our current macroeconomic indices which serve as the benchmarks for our medium term projects for 2016 and beyond are not encouraging, we are facing the future with determination and faith to change our fortune as a state,” he said.

    The Deputy Speaker Muhammed Gwampo who presided as the Speaker pro tempo, said “the appropriation bill will be speedily deliberated upon and put into law in the soonest possible time, so that we shall not delay the governor in his agenda of rescuing Taraba state.”

  • Taraba: Appeal Court reserves judgment on Ishaku’s election

    Taraba: Appeal Court reserves judgment on Ishaku’s election

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday reserved judgment in an appeal filed by Gov. Darius Ishaku of Taraba against the nullification of his electoral victory by a tribunal.

    Justice Abdul Aboki said the court would later announce the date for the judgment in the appeal.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the appeal by Ishaku followed the judgment of the Taraba Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Nov. 7 and awarded victory to Mrs Aisha Alhassan of APC.

    Mr. Kanu Agabi (SAN), Counsel to Ishaku, raised four issues in the appeal.

    He said the petition was not accompanied by valid statements as the respondents claimed that it was the fault of the registry.

    Agabi said the respondents claimed that the election was marred with corruption yet claimed victory in the election.

    He said the respondents also pleaded that Ishaku was not sponsored by the party but later agreed that his sponsorship was not supported by any fact.

    He complained that 51 witnesses of the appellant were not reviewed by the tribunal and urged their lordships to allow the appeal.

    Mr Solo Akuma (SAN), Counsel to Peoples’ Democratic Party PDP and Mr Joseph Daudu (SAN), Counsel to INEC urged the court to allow Ishaku’s appeal.

    However, Mr Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), Counsel to Alhassan, filed a cross appeal, saying INEC had no right to clear a candidate for election.

    He urged the court to dismiss Ishaku’s appeal and uphold the tribunal’s judgment.

     

  • I’m not disturbed by tribunal ruling – Ishaku

    I’m not disturbed by tribunal ruling – Ishaku

    Taraba State Governor, Dairus Ishaku whose election was voided last Saturday by the Taraba State election petition tribunal has said that he was not disturbed by the tribunal’s ruling.

    But the leadership of his party, the People Democratic Party (PDP) alleged connivance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government with security agencies to rob the PDP of victory in some states.

    The election tribunal had on Saturday voided Ishaku’s election and declared Hadjia Jumai Alhassan of the APC as the winner of the state’s April 11 governorship election.

    But Ishaku who spoke with journalists at the PDP Abuja secretariat on Tuesday, expressed the confident that the tribunal’s verdict would be upturned at the Court of Appeal.

    “I am not shaking; God is on His throne. I will defend the mandate the Taraba people gave to me. I have confidence in the judiciary but there is corruption in the judiciary. Just like in every profession, there are bad eggs.

    “There are good drivers and there are bad drivers. It is unfortunate that this driver (of the tribunal) was a bad driver. That judgement was an accidental discharge,” Ishaku said.

    According to him, it was wrong for the tribunal to base its ruling on a pre election matter while glossing over the main issues brought before it by his opponent.

    He described the judgement as a rude shock to the people of Taraba, and advised President Muhammadu Buhari ‎to start his anti-graft campaign from tribunal judges if he desired to win the war.

    The governor told the party leadership that normalcy has returned to Wukari area of the state where there were bloody clashes among supporters of the two political parties. He called on the political class to ensure the safety of lives of their supporters.

    ‎The Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, who received the governor, said the party complied with every aspect of the Electoral Act and the PDP guidelines in submitting the names of the governor and his deputy to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Secondus also expressed shocked at the basis on which the tribunal nullified Ishaku’s election, saying the law would eventually take its cause.

    The party chair also accused the APC led Federal Government of using security agencies to write tribunal judgements.

    He said, “There is a grand plan to takeover PDP states. The tribunal judgement is a conspiracy. We believe in the judiciary, we believe that justice will be done; we believe that nobody will coerce the judiciary.

    “The president should know that there will be no development without peace. The president needs peace to drive his change. There is tension everywhere.

    “The government should engage the Southeast where people are protesting, in a discussion but not to coerce or arrest ‎them. There is crisis in the land. Government should dialogue with the people.”

     

  • Tribunal sacks Taraba governor

    Tribunal sacks Taraba governor

    … Declares Alhassan winner of guber poll

    The Taraba State governorship election petition tribunal on Saturday nullified the election of the state governor, Darius Ishaku on the ground that he was not validly nominated and sponsored by his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The tribunal headed by Justice Musa Danladi Abubakar ordered that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hajia Aisha Alhassan, who scored the second highest votes, be declared the winner of the election.

    It held that by overwhelming evidence led by the petitioners (APC and Alhassan), represented by Mahmud Magaji (SAN), it was discovered that the PDP did not hold a valid primary as required by the Electoral Act.

  • Taraba 2015: The odds against Ishaku

    Taraba 2015: The odds against Ishaku

    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.

  • Ishaku: no going back on zoning in Taraba

    Ishaku: no going back on zoning in Taraba

    Darius Ishaku, an architect and former Minister of State for Niger Delta, is a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Taraba State. The politician has been adopted as a consensus candidate by stakeholders from Taraba Southern Zone, which has not produced a governor since the state was created 23 years ago. He spoke with Senior Correspondent FANEN IHYONGO on the succession battle, his ambition and other issues affecting the Northeast state.

    You have been endorsed by Taraba South for the governorship. What is the assurance that you will win the primaries?

    If I am given the opportunity to become a governor, I will not be the governor for only Southern Taraba District. I would be the governor of the entire state. We are talking of power shift because that is the arrangement in the PDP. The zoning is what makes the PDP different from other political parties. Without zoning, the PDP will be like any other political party. But, zoning has kept the ruling party going. Positions have to be zoned to rotate round the state. Imagine in Taraba state, the North has had the governorship for 10 years, the Central for eight years and now, somebody (Garba Umar), who is from the North, who is the acting governor, is contesting to come back for another eight years! Is this fair? We are saying it is not fair.

    Do you feel threatened by his Umar’s candidacy?

    I don’t feel threatened about him. In a free and fair election I will crush him. I am not afraid of him at all.

    The agitation for power shift in the state has divided the party. What is the way out? 

    The power shift in Taraba State was initiated by the North and Central. It is their initiative. The North and the Central came to us and said the South should produce a consensus candidate for them for the 2015 governorship election, and that is how it came to me. So, it is the entire state that worked out this system that produced me. That is why I am very popular. Don’t you notice the popularity? My popularity is overwhelmingly across the entire state, because my zone had worked out a democratic process that I emerged as its consensus candidate that was also acceptable by the north and south as the consensus candidate for the state.

    What should the people expect, if you become governor?

    Are you happy with what is happening in Taraba State? Are you happy with the attacks and killings in Taraba? Are you happy that a simple ward congress cannot be held in a democratic regime? The police are being used to terrorise citizens. The chairman of our party, Victor Bala, has to run away because his life is being threatened because of the ward congress. Is this the society you want? If you meet me in my office, I will open my drawer and show you how many people that have been gruesomely killed in Wukari, Ibi, Bali, Gashaka, Gassol and other local government areas. There is no peace in Taraba State now, with the worsening case in southern zone. Is this the kind of state you want? So, I am coming to correct the wrongs. I am on a rescue mission. A lot of damages have been done, I will clean the mess. Democracy is about being free to express your opinions. If the opinion is done properly on a free and fair election, I am not afraid of anything because I am very popular.

    Some people say you are not known in the state…

    These are minority views. How can I be popular, if I am not known? And what do you mean by popularity? I cannot go to the over three million people in the state to visit each individual one after another for them to know me. Politics is all about reaching out to those who are reaching others –connecting those that connect other people and wooing those who are power brokers within and outside the state. It is all about connectivity and wooing people’s hearts. I am connecting well and so many people have drifted to me, even from the opposition camp. So, it’s a question you should even ask, that what is the magnate that I have that is attracting people to support me?

    If you become the governor, what areas would you give priority attention to for development?

    All the areas in Taraba need intervention. And the worst is security. Once a government cannot establish security to protect lives and property, what else can it do? People are being attacked and killed in their homes because there is no security. Is that a government? If they kill everybody and the state, then, who would you rule? Everything in the state has to be corrected. But, the security of people and their properties are paramount. I want to assure all Tarabans that there would be a better Taraba, a new hope, and we shall intervene in virtually all facets because a lot of things have been messed up. As a matter of fact, this is not the state we wished to have. We shall make sure workers are paid as to when due. We shall make sure people are secured. The level of unemployment is frightening. When I was minister the biggest volume of visitors I used to have in my office was that of unemployed youths.

  • ‘Ishaku must wake up’

    ‘Ishaku must wake up’

    Southern Taraba’s consensus candidate and Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Darius Ishaku, “must wake up and do more” to clinch the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) governorship ticket, Colonel Agbu Kefas (rtd) said yesterday.

    Kefas, who chairs the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), spoke in Wukari and Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, while canvassing support for the minister.

    The names of Ishaku, Kefas and Senator Emmanuel Bwacha were submitted to former Defence Minister Gen. Theophilus Danjuma by Southern Taraba stakeholders as the most credible governorship aspirants from the zone. They asked Danjuma to endorse a consensus candidate for the zone.

    But Danjuma’s nominee, Ishaku, an architect, is opposed by some people, who described him as “an Abuja politician”, who is not popular at home.

    Kefas told his supporters that he had stepped down for Ishaku, adding that the minister would “wake up” and do more to endear himself to the people.

    He said the northern and central zones had ruled for 18 years and it was the turn of the southern zone to produce the governor for the first time.

    Kefas said: “It is not a tribal or local government agenda. It’s all about power shift to Taraba South. Ishaku would have done same if I was endorsed because that was what aspirants from the zone agreed on.

    “Don’t allow anybody to mislead you. I am not better than him just as he is not better than me; we are all qualified for the contest but it’s a matter of choice because the seat is for one person.

    “If you say Ishaku is not popular, use your popularity and colour him to be popular. He too must wake up and do more to be endeared to the people. He may be the best governor because power comes from God and governance is a collective project; it is not about one person. We are all involved. Let us work towards progress and make Taraba develop.”

     

     

     

    “Feel free, maintain peace, let’s work together as a cohesive people. Don’t stay away to condemn and conclude that he is not a good candidate. You can write and tell him you want to see him; tell him what he should do to succeed.”