Nasarawa: Resurgent opposition takes on retreating incumbents

In Nasarawa State, ex-governor Abdullahi Adamu, former minister of state for FCT Solomon Ewuga and others are currently battling for the state’s three senatorial seats. How far can they alter the equation?

In Nasarawa State, only the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) are eyeing beyond the governorship seat, with other parties streamlining their operations to concentrate on the governorship contest. The Labour Party (LP) has Nawani Aboki, and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Prof Onje-Gye Wado, for the governorship seat. All are working to unseat PDP’s Governor Aliyu Akwe Doma who they have repeatedly said is the reason for their opting out to contest: to salvage the state from several years of backwardness, according to them.

The CPC came on the scene waxing stronger with the visit of its presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, to receive Umaru Tanko Al-Makura and Hajiya Rakiya Haruna Kassim Idris – both governorship aspirants of the PDP who dumped their old party because of the alleged controversial preparations for the January ward congresses in the state. Since that day, the CPC has matched PDP, strength for strength, in seeking all positions from the state’s House of Assembly seats to the National Assembly seats.

On the senatorial contest, the PDP is presenting two, out of the three, serving senators who contested to retain their seats on its platform. They are Senators Patricia Akwashiki of Nasarawa-North, and Suleiman Adokwe of Nasarawa-South. Former governor Abdullahi Adamu of Nasarawa-West, who beat three-term Senator Abubakar Danso Sodangi at the Keffi zone primary election, is seeking his first term on the platform of the party he served as Secretary of Board of its Trustees (BOT).

The CPC, on the other hand, has former FCT minister of state and 2007 ANPP governorship candidate, Barrister Solomon Ewuga, contesting for Nasarawa-North, but Dr. Musa Nagogo is in court contesting his emergence as the flag bearer. Tanko Wambai wants to pull the seat away from PDP’s Adokwe, but Mohammed Agwai is in court, seeking he be declared the candidate, just as retired Maj-General Abdullahi Aboki is struggling to retain his candidature against Isah Ndako who is in court against him.

While the PDP serving senators are counting on their incumbency to retain their seats, the contenders are saying those seats are burdens for the PDP, alleging that non-performance of the PDP senators would cost the party the chances at the April poll.

The contenders are counting on widespread outcry by Nasarawa people over the performance of the two serving senators, and are trying to attract support based on their own promises to deliver.

Youths operating under a new pro-democracy group, Nasarawa Renaissance (NR), late last year disclosed plans to embark on the assessment of senators and House of Representatives members representing the state, as well as state legislators to determine whether youths in the state should throw their weight behind their respective 2011 bids. All the legislators in the state had sought re-election.

The group said that the development where all legislators representing the state at both national and state levels are seeking election in 2011 is “unprecedented” and, therefore, “needs a close assessment for the people to know their records since 2007.”

Spokesman of the youth group, Silas Angbas, said the group would not allow any legislator to get victory at the platter of gold “as was the case in 2007 when victories were allocated to them”.

He said: “This time, we want to see how we can assess them, based on their performance in their respective houses, and based on their performance in terms of the physical development of their areas from the funds allocated to them as constituency project allowances.”

He tagged the assessment as “Operation Show Your Constituency Project”, explaining that “this is an assessment of how much development projects a lawmaker has put on ground in his or her area from constituency allowances.”

He expressed misgivings with the idea of a constituency allowance, saying “it is money given to lawmakers to line their pockets, and not for the development of their people”, as he particularly queried the three senators—Sodangi, Akwashiki and Adokwe—over alleged lack of projects in their areas. “We know that Sodangi has some projects on ground, but we are not sure of Akwashiki and Adokwe,” Angbas added.

But the three senators had, before the primary election in January, defended themselves when they appeared before newsmen during their screening in Lafia, explaining that they were not “bench warmers.” They each lined up their achievements, including legislations and “constituency projects” they said they have executed for the people.

Nevertheless, the CPC senatorial candidates are up, trying to take some advantage in what the Nasarawa State University’s chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Yahaya Adudu, described as “a cut-throat competition.” Speaking to Daily Trust in Keffi, the lecturer said: “The parties are out there, slugging it out. This time, the electorate is more sensitive and conscious of his role in the leadership of this country. It is not going to be business as usual for anybody or party. It is what you have to offer. The people are looking for sterling qualities, people who will deliver, not party.

“It is going to be neck-to-neck competition, particularly in Nasarawa-West where a former governor and a retired military officer are slugging it out. In Nasarawa-North, a sitting senator, and a former minister; what do you expect? It can be anybody’s chance but the people will vote according to antecedents. Does Akwashiki have them? Does Ewuga have them? In Nasarawa-South, Adokwe is still on ground, but it is going to be hot and tough for him. That zone is a CPC catchment’s area,” the ASUU boss added.

Adamu, the only PDP senatorial candidate who is not counting on incumbency, is all the same counting on the goodwill he enjoys from the zone because of what his eight years administration between 1999 to 2007 meant for them. But he is doing so alone, as his main men who had been his trusted loyalists have left him to the CPC. Former minister Dr. Mohammed Hassan Lawal, former old Plateau State deputy governor Halilu Bala Usman and their supporters have dumped the PDP together with its candidates and joined CPC. They all said that Doma is their reason for doing so. Bala Usman served as Doma’s campaign director general in 2007.

But Adamu said he was not worried at all, explaining that PDP would not miss those associates of his who have defected to the opposition CPC. He said that the development would not shake the PDP, because, according to him, the defectors “are only leaving the big family”, and would be the ones to lose. “Why are these people going out of PDP? Who are they in the first place in the PDP. What were their contributions to the PDP? How does their going out affect the PDP?” he asked.

“We appreciate them while we were together in the party, but they have a right and you can’t question their rights. I don’t want to lose anybody in the PDP, especially those that I have worked with. Some of them have just started opening offices now. They are the ones that shout the more: ‘oh PDP has rigged’; we are just getting more and more political town criers. I don’t cry; I don’t like loosing my friends. When I was a young man there was this track record that made the hit then; Honey Comb, titled ‘One monkey doesn’t stop any show’. This shows, nobody, nobody is indispensable,” he added.

The outcome of the April’s National Assembly elections in the state will tell.

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