BY PETER
The eerie calm in the security and
socio-political space of Kaduna State, on Monday, burst into
cataclysmic political excitement never seen since the death of its
former governor, Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, and the swearing-in of
his deputy, Alh. Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, last December, to succeed him.
Three
closely linked events took place. And they may well set the agenda that
would profoundly determine the fortunes or otherwise of the People’s
Democratic Party, PDP, in the state and that of the characters that
ride on it.
First, like bad dream turn real, Vice President
Namadi Sambo, whose outings in the last three polls in the state showed
that he could not win even his own street and ward, woke up to find
that the party had developed a very bitter faction that announced its
loyalty to the Abubakar Kawu Baraje-led “New” PDP’. This would make
his political relevance both in the state, the North-west and, by
extension, the entire North come to question when viewed from the fact
that out of the seven “rebel” governors of the ruling party, six are
from the North, with four from the North-west. And now his own state
had joined the fray, with him seemingly looking helpless.
The
woes of the Vice President in a series of events, last week, started
with the press statement by Alhaji Audi Yaro Makama -Kaduna State PDP
Chairman (2001-2007) and Gideon Yakubu Morik, member, Kaduna State
House of Assembly (1999-2007) and Chairman, Jema’a Local Government
Council Area of Kaduna State (2007 – 2010).
The statement,
supported by Ambassador Sule Buba (a former Kaduna State PDP Chair,
2007 – 2011), Hon. Isaac Bodams, Hajia Aisah Mairago, among other PDP
bigwigs in the state, read in part: “In the last few weeks, a political
tsunami was unleashed on the nation with the emergence of a new
leadership to pilot the affairs of our great party, the People’s
Democratic Party(PDP).
“The decision of former Vice President
Atiku Abubakar and seven governors elected on the platform of the
party, is not only worthy of commendation but worthy of emulation. . .
“The
revolutionary decision to sack the erstwhile leadership under Alhaji
Bamanga Tukur and replace it with the current one led by Alhaji Kawu
Baraje needs to be replicated in all states chapters of the party,
especially Kaduna state where the support base of the party has been
shrinking since 2007 when Arc Namadi Sambo became governor and decided
to rubbish the party and its supporters to no end.
“The PDP in
Kaduna State therefore proudly and wholeheartedly identifies with the
new leadership of the party, under Alhaji Kawu Baraje and follows in
the footsteps of its sister chapters of Adamawa, Jigawa and Taraba
States in setting up new leadership to give our party a new lease of
life.
“We are also reassuring our teeming supporters that they
truly own the party and not impostors with little or no inkling about
PDP’s founding ideals and people who don’t have the passion for the
party’s interest and growth.
“Fundamentally, this decision has been
taken after deep reflections on happenings in Kaduna State since the
elevation of Architect Namadi Sambo as Vice President.
“ It is
instructive that since his elevation, the fortunes and prestige of the
party in the state has been declining rather than improving, because he
has been incapable of rallying the people under its umbrella.
“Although
this is hardly surprising since he lacks the political wherewithal and
the requisite structure to preside over the politics of the state, but
it was expected that he would come to terms with his inadequacies and
enlist the support of established political actors.
“ This
expectation has been a forlorn hope because the Vice President has
surrounded himself with political paperweights. These hangers on drive
Sambo’s vehicle of political exclusionism by hunting for enemies even
where they don’t exist.
“All efforts by concerned party members
and elders to make him see reason, as well as draw the attention of the
sacked party leadership were in vain.
“We are therefore, once
again affirming our loyalty to the new leadership of PDP under Alhaji
Kawu Baraje”. The statement was wildly celebrated by the ‘New PDP’
supporters and the opposition in the state.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the mainstream PDP repudiated the statement.
A
statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Kaduna PDP,. Ibahim
Mansur, reads:: “It has come to our notice that a group of self
serving and out of favour politicians masquerading as members of our
great Party, PDP in Kaduna State have resorted to seeking cheap
relevance by declaring loyalty to the illegal and outlawed faction of
the party led by Alhaji Kawu Baraje and his co travelers.
“The
group of political opportunists led by a former chairman of the PDP in
Kaduna State, Alhaji Audi Yaro Makama and a former member of the State
House of Assembly, Yakubu Gideon Morik, is completely on the derailed
path as the Kaduna State Chapter of the PDP remains solidly behind the
leadership of our National Chairman, Alhaji (Dr) Bamanga Tukur.
“There
is only one PDP, which is the one led by Bamanga Tukur, this much has
been determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.
“The claim
by the so called group is false and totally criminal, as the party is
intact and united under the able leadership of Dr A G Haruna”, reads
the statement.
Many watchers of the party in the state were, in the least, surprised about the altercation..
According
to a top PDP member in Kaduna State, who was deep in the 2011
gubernatorial election: “The actions of the Namadi Sambo have been very
strange politically. He does not seem bothered about his little
political capital that has been almost depleted through his naïve
handling of issues. He chooses only his friends and that of his wife
into both state and federal appointments. He has personally attracted
no meaningful federal projects here.
He is detached from the
electorate and is aloof to the media in the state. And I see Yero, his
god-son, doing the same. We that form the base of the party have
suddenly become observers, with our supporters also going awry.”
