Bauchi State Governor Mallam Isa Yuguda, who is leaving office next year, has been endorsed by stakeholders for the Senate in the South District. Correspondent AUSTIN TSENZUGHUC reports that his ambition may pitch him against Senator Adamu Gumba, who is seeking re-election.
Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda will vacate office next year. But, he will not embark on political retirement. It is an open secret that he is eyeing the senatorial slot in his native South District. Although he has not publicly declared his ambition, he is consulting with party elders and other stakeholders in the district. Also, there are subtle campaigns by his loyalists that suggest that the days of the Senator Adamu Ibrahim Gumba are numbered in the Senate.
Analysts argue that Yuguda is emulating former governors, who became senators, following the expiration of their second term. Already, the state is abuzz with unsubstantiated claims that there is a subsisting “gentleman understanding” between Gumba and Yuguda that makes it obligatory for the senator to vacate the seat for the governor next year. Yuguda and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have not refuted the claim.
The Bauchi South seat became vacant in 2009, following the appointment of Senator Bala Mohammed as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Many indigenes of the zone, including Gumba and Mr. Ali Wakili, a retired Custom officer, contested for the ticket under the PDP. But, Gumba emerged victorious.
Many stakeholders were taken aback. Before the contest, Gumba was perceived as a colourless politician. Unlike Wakili, he lacked financial clout and a formidable network. The story making the rounds then was that Gumba was Yuguda’s anointed candidate. ‘’He was provided with the required financial resources to ensure his victory, and that is why he beat all other candidates,’’ a PDP chieftain said. The source added: ‘’That is why what you heard is yet to be denied by either the government or Senator Gumba.’’
However, Wakili and other co-contestants defected to All Progressives Congress (APC), with the hope of clinching the party’s ticket for the Senate. They have already deployed campaign materials across the zone in readiness for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s official nod for the commencement of campaigns.
This development is coming ahead of the APC’s nomination of a senatorial flag-bearer for the Bauchi South, who may give the PDP candidate (Gumba or Yuguda) a good run for his money. The APC barely three weeks ago had its state congress in Bauchi, where its state’s officials were elected in a transparent and orderly manner.
A source close to Gumba has refuted the claim that he was sponsored by Yuguda and that he is obliged to step down for him in 2015. His words: “It is not true that Governor Yuguda asked Gumba to hold the post for him. What happened was that, when Senator Bala moved to the F.C.T. as the minister, the former Northeast PDP Chairman, Senator Paul Wanpana, conducted primaries for seven aspirants who against all pleas refused to step down for one another.
‘’At the primary, each person was asked to vote for himself and another aspirant of his choice. So, somebody voted for himself and Gumba. That is how he emerged as the Bauchi South PDP senatorial candidate. From there, he contested with candidates from opposition parties and won. So, it not true that Yuguda placed him there to hold brief for him.’’
The source, who is a chieftain of the PDP, said Gumba is not an aggressive politician, stressing that he does not believe in the politics of blackmail and violence. “He was a successful civil servant as a custom officer. On retirement, he served as the Head of Civil Service and Commissioner for Education under Governor Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu,” he added.
Neither Gumba nor Yuguda has declared his intention to vie for the seat. But, a partisan group, ‘’Yuguda for the Senate Advocates,’’ has urged the governor to declare his ambition. Members of the group have paid visits to Gumba, urging him to step down for Yuguda. They said that the governor should be compensated with the seat for serving the state meritoriously for eight years.
Gumba is yet to give a definite answer. But, as source said: “The peace loving, gentle senator, who is the Chairman of Senate Committee on Sports, is waiting for Yuguda to personally approach him to step-down on terms agreeable to the two of them.”
In Bauchi South, Gumba has been watering the ground for his re-nomination. Between January and March, he has organised empowerment programmes for the people. A sourcse close to him said that he has expended over N140 million on projects across the seven local governments that make up the zone.
However, top PDP chieftains confided that this may not guarantee Gumba’s renomination. It is a common knowledge that most governors often use government resources to intimidate rivals and cow them into submission.
Yuguda is popular in the zone. For the eight years he has been in power, he has not forgotten home. He has sited some projects in the district, thereby earning applause from indigenes. He has constructed roads and provided other social amenities. He has also empowered key stakeholders in the zone. One of the roads constructed by him is the 84-kilometre Alkaleri/Futuk Road, which is a road linking Magama/Gumau, Toro Local Government Area, to Rishi-Ramaha-Saminaka in Kaduna State. In addition, another access road to fast track economic activities in Kirfi Local Government is under construction. Yuguda has offered appointments to many indigenes. He has also provided job opportunities for many youths.
At the grassroots, the governor has created more districts, village heads and hamlets to give minorities a sense of belonging. He was applauded for the creation of the Sayawa chiefdom. The move has bought peace to the troubled Sayawa-dominated Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa Local Governments. Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa had been the flashpoints of ethno-religious conflicts for almost a hundred years. Many lives have been been lost and property worth millions destroyed.
However, the contest may not be a walk over for Yuguda. He may not count on the support of the people of Bauchi Local Government Area, which has always been the stronghold of the opposition. In 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011 elections, they voted against the PDP candidates. Next year, voting may follow the same pattern. Although the local government hosts the state capital, the people are not favourably disposed to the PDP. Eminent Nigerians from the area are gravitating towards the direction of the APC.
Also, the Sayawa people of Bogoro Local Government Area are not happy with Yuguda, in spite of the fact he has given them the chiefdom. For 40 years, the people had agitated for cultural identity. The Sayawa (Zaar) Chiefdom is a welcome development. But, the seat of the GumZaar (the spiritual and social leader of the Sayawa ethnic group) was moved to Marten-Giji, against the wish of the people. Marten Giji is an obscure hamlet. It is far from Tafawa Balewa town. The people have maintained that it is not their ancestral home.
They is also the bitter resentment against the governor over the indefinite suspension of Hon. Rifkatu Samson Danna, the only female member of Bauchi State House of Assembly. She is an influential indigene of Bogoro Sayawa. She has been on suspension June 2012. Also, Sayawa people are complaining that the only Government Girls Secondary School in Tafawa Balewa has been closed down since 2012, because of insecurity in the area.
Toro and Bauchi local governments share the same political feelings. Toro has always been in the opposition and it will not be an easy task for Yuguda to secure the votes of the electorate in the area. Prominent indigene, including Dr. Ibrahim Yakubu Lame, Dr. Aliyu Tilde, Dr. Danjuma Adamu Dabo, and Barr. Ibrahim Zailani, Ibrahim Tilde and Hon.Lawal Yahaya Gumau, are major stakeholders in the Bauchi APC.
