Tag: Nasarawa

In the North-Central states of Benue, Plateau, Kwara and Nasarawa, there is confusion over the PDP governorship tickets, reports Remi Adelowo 

Just a few months to the 2015 general elections, Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, is still keeping his succession plan close to his chest.

In the last one year, a number of politicians within and outside the government circles have been touted as Suswam’s anointed candidate to succeed him next year, but the governor has tactically refrained from letting the cat out of the bag yet as it concerns his favoured candidate.

That notwithstanding, about ten aspirants, including the deputy governor, Steve Lawani; former Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Chief Samuel Ortom; former Registrar of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Felix Atume; a retired permanent secretary, Mr. Hinga Biem; former speakers of the Benue State House of Assembly, Prince Terhemen Tarzoor and David Iorhemba; former Commissioner of Justice, Alex Adum and his environment counterpart, Dr. Eugene Aliegba and Permanent Secretary of Government House Administration, Dr. Tivlumun Nyitse and that of local government, Mr. Andy Uwouku, have declared their intention to succeed Suswam.

Others are a commissioner in the Federal Character Commission, Prince Simon Aondona, an astute politician, Mr. Basil Mbatsiantim; Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Mr. John Tondo and state chairman of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Mr. Simon Anchaver, among others.

Within the past few months, the governor and the paramount ruler of the Tiv in the state, HRH Akawe Torkula have been busy convening meetings to resolve issues that have arisen because of speculated trimming of governorship contenders in the state.

While many political pundits have expressed doubts about the streamlining of the governorship aspirants from the favoured Masev, Iharev and Nongov entity, otherwise known as MINDA, where zoning is reportedly favoured, the declarations from respected elders and stakeholders in the area to prune the list of aspirants to four has unsettled the camps of many aspirants.

At the onset, the traditional authorities claimed that the pruning of the aspirants from MINDA was because of their large number and that the decision was taken to enhance commitment and focus of the entity to the project which has not enjoyed the seat since the creation of the state.

A few weeks ago, another crucial meeting was reportedly held in Gboko between the Tor Tiv and all the governorship contenders from the MINDA extraction, where consultation waiver was granted unanimously to only four aspirants: Felix Atume (Gwer-West); Dr. Samuel Ortom (Guma); Mr. Hinga Biem (Gwer) and Prince Terhemen Tarzoor (Makurdi).

But sources claim that other governorship aspirants from the Idoma ethnic group are also gearing for the 2015 race on the assumption that aspirants from MINDA may fail to reach a consensus on single candidate and regardless of the positions of decisions reached by some powerful interests in the state on who succeeds Suswam.

For instance, the deputy governor, Chief Steven Lawani, and a former minister, Mr. Sam Ode, have stepped up their drive since the pruning exercise came to the fore.

With the seeming endorsement of Atume, a former Director-General of Benue Rural Development Agency (BERDA), former commissioner of works and President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Ortom; former Permanent Secretary, Biem and Tarzoor, who is a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly to contest the PDP primaries, the battle line appears drawn between them and the other aspirants.

Lawani, who obtained the governorship nomination form from the PDP national headquarters, sources disclosed, have vowed not to step down from the race in spite of pressure from certain quarters to “read the body language of his boss and do the needful.”

Presently, PDP leaders in the state are said to be worried that the outcome of the governorship primaries may throw the party into a serious crisis capable of truncating its hold on the governorship of the state since 1999.

 Plateau

Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, had been evasive on his plan for succession when his term expires in 2015.

The best the governor has revealed is that he is relying on “God’s direction on who succeeds him.”

But despite the governor’s position, political forces from the three senatorial zones of the state have been holding meetings, consultations and sending emissaries to lobby Jang to anoint one of their favoured governorship aspirants.

As it were, the three senatorial districts have produced civilian governors in the state, starting from the Southern zone of the state that produced governors such as late Solomon Daushep Lar in the Second Republic and Ambassador Fidelis Tapgun in the aborted Third Republic, while the Central zone produced Senator Joshua Dariye as a two-term governor of the state from 1999 to 2007 before Jang, from the Northern zone who was elected governor in 2007.

This political scenario is currently creating a serious debate as to which of the senatorial zones should produce Jang’s successor in 2015.

While some stakeholders are canvassing for a level playing field for all the governorship aspirants, others are of the opinion that no aspirant from the North senatorial zone where the incumbent governor hails from should be allowed to succeed him next year.

As the debate rages on, rumours are rife in the North Central state that Jang has allegedly anointed Senator Gyang Pwajok, his kinsman from the Berom ethnic group.

Jang has, however, denied endorsing the lawmaker and indeed any member of his kitchen cabinet to take over from him, describing those claiming that he had already zoned the 2015 ticket to the Northern Senatorial District as prophets of doom.

But many PDP chieftains in the state are taking his denial with a pinch of the salt. They insist the governor has allegedly made up his mind to hand over to Pwajok, his former Chief of Staff, while he (Jang) would take over the lawmaker’s seat in the National Assembly.

Against this backdrop, other aspirants in the PDP appear ready to take on the governor.

Jang’s deputy, Ignatius Longjan, is poised to take the plunge, as he had collected his nomination form from the national secretariat of the PDP despite the perceived opposition from his boss who wants his deputy to leave the stage in 2015 for younger ones to continue from where the duo will stop in 2015.

Speaking while receiving the form from a member of the Plateau State House of Assembly from Qua’an-Pan-North constituency, Mr. Joe Dawam, at his lodge in Rayfield, on Monday, Longjan, who comes from the Southern zone, said he had no option but to bow to the pressure mounted on him by his people who have asked him to contest.

Interestingly, Jang’s kinsman and staunch supporter, Mr. Bulus Dareng, was present at the event.

Dareng described Longjan as a committed and loyal deputy to Jang, adding that the deputy governor has played a vital role in the Jang-led administration.

If Jang eventually has his way in foisting Pwajok, sources say PDP members in the Central and South zone have allegedly resolved to work against the party’s candidate premising their position on the need to ensure equity and fair play in the rotation of the governorship in the state.

Kwara

The choice of the 2015 governorship candidate by the Kwara State chapter of the PDP is one issue that may define its future in next year’s general elections and even beyond.

At the last count, about seven aspirants are jostling for the ticket, with each of them banking on forces within and beyond the state to emerge victorious.

Lining up for the primaries include a former vice chancellor, Prof. Abdulrahman Oba, two former senators, Gbemisola Saraki and Suleiman Ajadi, Mr. Dele Belgore, a businessman, Jani Ibrahim, amongst others.

But of the lot, only Ibrahim has formally declared his intention during a rally that held in Ilorin, the state capital, with Saraki and Belgore still said to be consulting with their supporters before officially throwing their hats into the ring.

Even as the campaign by the aspirants is yet to kick off, there are unconfirmed reports that a chieftain of the party, Hajia Bola Shagaya, holds the ace in who wins the governorship ticket of the party.

Shagaya has in recent months emerged as the power broker who determines who gets what and how in the Kwara PDP using her close links in the Presidency to maximum effect.

So far, the wealthy businesswoman is yet to back any of the aspirants, even as there are reports that chieftains of the party like Oba, Ajadi and a current senator, Simeon Ajibola are not positively disposed to accepting Shagaya’s leadership status of the party.

But from all indications, major actors of Kwara PDP, all laying claim to the leadership of the party, look set to take themselves to the cleaners in the battle for the 2015 governorship ticket.

Nasarawa

Immediate former Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, is not taken for granted in his ambition to govern his home state, Nasarawa come 2015.

Following his resignation from the federal cabinet a few weeks ago, Maku has plunged head-on into the governorship race, vowing to unseat the incumbent governor, Tanko Al-Makura of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

However, the former deputy governor has a few other formidable aspirants to contend with for the PDP’s governorship ticket.

Senator representing Nasarawa North, Solomon Ewuga, a former Presidency aide, Chris Mamman, and a former governor of the state, Akwe Doma, are other PDP chieftains also interested in the ticket.

While Maku seems to have an edge in the race based on his alleged endorsement for the exalted seat by some power brokers in the seat of power, his fellow aspirants are also not taking any chances.

The major dilemma that the Nasarawa PDP is however faced with is how to handle the aftermath of the governorship primaries, as none of the aspirants, all formidable in their own right, is willing to step down from the race.

Several attempts by influential stakeholders in the state to agree on a consensus candidate for the PDP particularly among those from the Eggon ethnic group have been fruitless so far.

The Eggon, considered as the largest ethnic group in the state, has never produced the governor of the state, but there are fears that lack of understanding among the array of aspirants from the area may be its undoing.

Will the Nasarawa PDP agree on a consensus governorship candidate for the 2015 election? Will all the major aspirants rally round the eventual winner of the primaries? Only time will tell.