Politics
Shekarau, Kwankwaso Team Up Against Ganduje In Kano
Following the formal defection of former Kano State Governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), the political alignment in the state has taken a different shape, TheTide source reports.
Shekarau, the Senator representing Kano Central, picked up his NNPP membership card at his Giginyu Ward on Wednesday after several days of back and forth on the defection.
The National Leader of NNPP and its presidential aspirant, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, also a former Governor of Kano State, was among the bigwigs of Kano politics that were at the event to receive Shekarau into NNPP; a union some political analysts described as a marriage of convenience.
Our source further reports that Kwankwaso personally handed over Shekarau’s membership card, with the Shura Council, Shekarau’s political structure’s highest decision-making body, also in attendance.
This is the first time that Shekarau and Kwankwaso will go into general elections as members of the same party, and with both of them considered as two of three strongest politicians in the state, their alignment is being seen as a game changer.
Since the crisis within Kano APC led to the emergence of the G-7 faction led by Shekarau in late 2021, observers had forecast that as long as the crisis is left to be resolved via the court system where only one winner would emerge, it would be impossible to have Shekarau and the current Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in the same party come 2023.
This forecast became evident days before the Supreme Court decided the matter in favour of Governor Ganduje as Shekarau was reported to have said that if the apex court’s decision did not favour them (G-7), they will stop over at the famous Yan Lemo fruits’ market at the entrance of Kano. The insignia of the new but fast growing NNPP is a variety of fruits.
After the apex court’s judgment, a lot of politicking took place, most of them in the dead of the night, to broker peace between Ganduje and Shekarau and convince the latter to rescind his decision to leave the APC, but all were to no avail as both sides could not come to agreement on demands made from each other.
But before Shekarau’s formal defection, some other members of G-7 had all defected to the NNPP and were seen at the forefront of convincing Shekarau to also join them in the new party.
Before this chain of defection, at least 17 members of Kano State House of Assembly had defected from both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the APC to the NNPP.
All these defections, which culminated with Shekarau’s move on Wednesday, has now changed the permutations and political alignment in Kano State ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Political analysts observed that before the emergence and sudden growth of the NNPP, PDP was hitherto considered as the main opposition in Kano and was expected to provide a formidable competition to the APC in 2023 as it did in 2019.
But with the party (PDP) engrossed with its own leadership problem between the camps of its chairman, Shehu Sagagi (a loyalist of Kwankwasiyya Movement) and that of a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aminu Wali, the party has continued to struggle to put its house in order.
In 2019, when the opposition (PDP) was coasting to victory before the election was declared inconclusive, the party had its major strength from Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya Movement, which marshalled supports and votes for its then candidate, Abba Yusuf (popularly known as Abba Gida-Gida) against Ganduje.
Unlike in 2019 when Governor Ganduje had the support of Shekarau to defeat his major challenger, Yusuf, the governor’s candidate in 2023 will not only not be able to call on Shekarau’s support but will now have to contend against the joint force of the NNPP, filled majorly by politicians that felt slighted by him (Ganduje) and APC.
Recall that Ganduje-led APC stakeholders had endorsed the current deputy governor, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna and former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Murtala Sule-Garo to clinch the joint governorship and deputy governorship ticket of the party.
This decision was one of the developments that led to the mass exodus of APC bigwigs, especially from Kano South to the NNPP.
Kano South is believed to be central to the permutations of all the parties in Kano, and the battle is expected to come from that axis, especially with the latest alignment.
Alhassan Rurum, who is currently a House of Representatives member for Rano/Kibiya/Bunkure, was among those hoping to clinch the governorship ticket of APC before it was handed over to Gawuna, and he was hinging his ambition on the fact that his zone (Kano South) has not produced a governor or deputy since 1992.
Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila, a former legislative aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, is also targeting the Kano South senatorial ticket, currently held by Senator Kabiru Gaya. This is even as the immediate past Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Nura Dankadai, is planning to unseat the House Leader, Alhassan Doguwa, as representative of Doguwa/Tudunwada at the green chamber.
The ambition of Dankadai, who is believed to be a major local mobiliser in Kano South, may also change permutations at the federal level for APC as the Doguwa is believed to be prepping up to become the Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2023.
Elsewhere, in Kano North, the recent peace parley between Ganduje and Senator Barau Jibrin, another leader of the G-7, seems to have doused the tension in the axis, especially as it was reported that the governor has agreed to step down his senatorial ambition for Barau’s return to the red chamber. Barau was a front runner for the governorship seat until the endorsement of Gawuna. He thereafter abandoned his gubernatorial ambition.
But there are still fears within the APC that unless the party is able to resolve the animosity between Barau and Sule-Garo (the anointed deputy governorship aspirant), the party may still implode, especially with talks of dissatisfaction in the camp of Sule-Garo over the peace parley between Ganduje and Barau.
In Kano Central, Senator Bashir Lado, Abdulkarim A. Zaura and Barrister Ismaeel Ahmed, all in the camp of the governor, are expected to test their popularity at the party’s primaries to know who will contest against Shekarau of the NNPP for the senate seat.
The Kano central has always been seen as a stronghold of Kwankwasiyya while Kano north and south belong to governor Ganduje and APC as evidenced during the 2019 elections. However, many observers see the Kwankwaso/Shekarau merger and the recent high-profile defection to NNPP from Kano south as a serious threat that could lead to the defeat of the ruling APC.
But some APC insiders believe that Ganduje’s reconciliation with Senator Barau of Kano north and the fact that Gawuna hails from Kano central as well as the incumbency factor will help them retain Nigeria’s most populous state.
Commenting, Dr Aminu Hayatu, a political analyst and lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano, (BUK), is of the opinion that as much as Kwankwaso and Shekarau’s union has changed the political alignment and permutations in Kano, the real challenge will come after the party’s primaries or shortly after the party retains power.
He said, “His NNPP is no doubt an alternative force that has the promise of neutralising the arrogance of the ruling party, basically in Kano, and the incompetence of the PDP as a supposed opposition.
“But Kwankwaso’s major dilemma is that, most of those defecting to the NNPP are just after what they can personally gain from the party’s elective positions and appointments.”
Hayatu, therefore, believes that while NNPP has the potential to “capture power at least in Kano and some few Northern states maybe, but it may, if care is not taken, run into post-victory crises arising from different kinds of grievances.”
Politics
2024 Budget: Funds Were Shared Among Senators -Abaribe
The lawmaker representing Abia South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has explained how the Zonal Intervention Project funds were shared among senators.
Recall that the senator representing Cross River North, Agom Jarigbe on Tuesday revealed that ranking senators got N500 million each while he got nothing.
Senator Jarigbe made the revelation on the floor of the Senate while speaking on allegations of budget padding raised by the lawmaker representing Bauchi Central, Senator Abdul Ningi.
The lawmakers who have spent at least four years in the Senate are regarded as ranking senators.
Speaking on the development on a live television interview on Wednesday, Senator Abaribe denied receiving N500 million as alleged by Senator Jarigbe.
Senator Abaribe said he got N266 million from the money allocated to lawmakers in the six geo-political zones.
According to him, lawmakers from some zones, like the Northwest, which has seven states, would expect to get less than what he got, as his Southeast zone has only five states.
He said, “I have been saying that all fingers are not equal and by privilege of office, certain people will get but not every Senator gets an equal amount.
“These are six zones in the country, and every zone gets its own N10 billion in intervention. Now, if you are from the Northwest zone, because you have seven states, the senator will get less than me who comes from the five-state zone.
“My state, Abia, gets N2 billion and if we break it down for both the Senate and the representatives, the Senate is getting 40% and the House gets 60%.
“I got about N266 million as zonal intervention. The person in the Northwest who has seven states, will necessarily get less, about a hundred million and something.
“So it’s not correct when we say every constituency must get an equal amount.”
Politics
Dump PDP, Enhance Your Value, APC Woos Gov Mutfwang
Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has been advised to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) so that his good works and value can appreciate more.
The call was made on Wednesday by the North Central APC Forum in Jos, the Plateau State capital, during the forum’s first quarter of the year meeting.
Speaking at the meeting, the APC Forum Chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, said they were meeting to review the state of the party in the region as well as the region’s economic and security situation, adding that the position of the Plateau State Governor was vital in the overall development of the region.
Zazzaga, who was also a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in the last election, commended Governor Mutfwang for carrying the citizenry along in his developmental efforts, noting that his approach to boost peace and security of the state as well as his calm personality was impressive.
However, he said for the governor to attain a robust and exhaustive achievement of his agenda, policies and the development of Plateau State, he should defect to the APC.
He said the governor’s defection would not amount to relegating his former party to the background, but would rather strengthen him more to develop Plateau State.
According to the Chairman, the FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, is a good example of someone who seeks development for his people and the nation at large, using any vital and handy platform or party to advance his cause.
“Governor Caleb Mutfwang has so far shown that he is a progressive governor through his works, words and deeds since assuming office. But for him to advance more, he should consider joining the APC.
“This is because joining the APC will put him on the same page with President Ahmed Bola Tinubu who has the interest of Plateau in his heart and has been doing his best to advance it.
“Besides, Governor Mutfwang will be on the same page with his other counterparts in the North Central who are of the APC, and together they will have a common ground and work for the interest and development of the region in general and their specific states in particular.
“Also, most of the legislators from the state are in APC, and they can work hand-in-hand to move the state forward, because the relationship between the executive and the legislature cannot be overemphasized in the pursuance of progress and development.
Politics
Step Aside Over Alleged Budget Padding, PDP Urges Akpabio
The Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) on Wednesday demanded that the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, immediately steps aside and allow for an independent investigation into the allegation that a staggering N3.7 trillion was discreetly inserted into the 2024 budget for alleged non-existent projects.
In a statement released by Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary, the main opposition party also demanded that Akpabio immediately report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the pending case relating to N108 billion belonging to the people of Akwa Ibom State, allegedly looted under his watch as the governor.
The party similarly told the Senate President to speak out on the reported N86 billion contract scam that allegedly occurred in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) during his tenure as the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
The PDP condemned the suspension of Senator Abdul Ningi by the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in the Senate “without a detailed inquest into the issue of budget padding which he raised.”
Recall that Ningi blew the whistle on the alleged unexplained N3.7 trillion inserted into the budget, leading to his suspension from the chamber for allegedly disparaging the legislature.
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