Bauchi’s endless war of political supremacy.
From the look of things, the lingering feud between Governor Mohammed
Abubakar and elected federal representatives from Bauchi State has no
end in sight.
There has been no love lost between the governor and the federal
lawmakers from Bauchi State since the APC won election in the state in
2015.
The feud has, however, taken another dimension recently as both sides
opened new fronts to wage a political war against one another.
According to the findings from national dailies and other social media
outlets shows that the genesis of this imbroglio saga between the
political power house of Bauchi State politics.
The crisis started soon after the politicians, riding on the
popularity of Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
collectively won elections.
Unfortunately, rather than working together, the major actors, for
some obvious reasons, refused to consolidate their gains.
Eighteen months after, despite several efforts by the state and the
national leaderships of the party to resolve the problems, the
politicians, specifically the governor and his supporters on one and
the team of legislators on the other, are increasingly opening new
frontiers of misunderstanding.
However, while some of the lawmakers are fighting the battle behind
the scenes, others like senators Ali Wakili, Isah Hammah and to a
certain extent, Suleiman Nazif, are more vocal in expressing their
opposition to the policies of Governor Abubakar.
A leading Rep member in the fight is Ahmed Yarima, who hardly stays a
week without picking a hole in what Governor Abubakar does.
Sources said the presence of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, who is also from
Bauchi State and from the same senatorial district as the governor, is
adding impetus to the legislators.
The lawmakers are specifically accusing the governor of failing to
fulfill some of the campaign promises they collectively made to the
electorate.
One of the promises they said the governor failed to fulfill, is the
conduct of local government elections, that instead, he appointed
caretaker committees.
Governor Abubakar saying however, justified his decision the state has
no money to conduct local government elections, which he said will
cost about N2 billion at a time of economic downturn.
Another issue that has lingered for a long time is the payment of
salaries, which most of the governor's critics, including civil
servants, hyped.
However, since the settlement of the outstanding salary arrears, the
issue has died down even as the governor’s handlers are now accusing
the legislators and their supporters of not celebrating the governor
over the feat.
At the height of the cold war, an earlier attempt to recall the three
senators from the National Assembly by a coalition within the APC, was
interpreted as a clandestine attempt by Governor Abubakar and the
party's leadership at the state level to get at the senators.
The coalition, led by one Aliyu Sa'idu, who was rejected by the
Senate, some months ago, to be a member of the National Communications
Commission (NCC) board, to represent the North East, accused senators
Wakili, Hammah and Nazif of supporting the Senate President, Bukola
Saraki “against the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari's candidate.”
The APC at the national level, however, tried to reconcile the
senators and the governor’s group over the recall attempt.
But the issue later re-surfaced when another group petitioned the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking to
kick-start the recall process.
Ironically, a different group went to the INEC office in Bauchi and
countered, saying they were fully in support of their senators.
Thereafter, some stories emerged online with names of some
politicians, who would purportedly replace the elected legislators in
the event they were recalled.
.
The list also included some party executives, who were reportedly not
in the good books of the state governor.
The move, according to sources, was to pave way for Governor Abubakar
to have a smooth ride in 2019.
However, in an advertorial published in a national daily, the APC
leadership and the governor denied anointing some politicians to
replace members of the National Assembly.
They said the online report was allegedly planted by the same
legislators trying to discredit the governor and the APC.
But instead of the crisis to disappear, fresh allegations emerged from
the governor’s camp that the lawmakers, in cahoots with “other
disgruntled elements within and outside the APC,” have already
resolved to work against Governor Abubakar in 2019.
It was alleged by the governor’s camp that the lawmakers and their
supporters elsewhere, have allegedly selected someone among them that
would be supported to unseat the governor in 2019.
Another factor which is said to be aggravating the feud in Bauchi was
the alleged involvement of some former APC aspirants who lost out in
the party's primaries.
The former aspirants were said to be angered by Governor Abubakar's
perceived “winner takes all”, attitude and leaving nothing for them
after the elections.
However, the governor's spokesperson, Comrade Sabo Mohammed, had in an
earlier interview dismissed this insinuation, saying that the governor
has been very magnanimous in working with people that are very close
to all the other aspirants.
"I am a perfect example of Governor Abubakar's magnanimity and
democratic principles. I was from the Dr. Yakubu Lame's camp, but he
appointed me to serve him. Look around and you will find out that all
the governor’s appointees have links in one way or another to all the
other aspirants," he said.
Deep in fighting, the party recently held an expanded excos meeting
which had in attendance, almost all its excos and other prominent
figures, including Governor Abubakar.
However, the absence of senators Wakili, Nazif and Hammah, as well as
Speaker Dogara and other major actors involved in the feud left much
to be desired.
Though some lawmakers had attended the meeting, the APC spokesperson
in the state, Auwal Jalla, informed journalists that those who did not
attend the meeting had sent their apologies.
But Senator Wakili, in an interview a few days later, said they
received the invitation to the meeting very late.
He also said they had other important official engagements at the time.
.
The problem aggravated when the APC chairman in Tafawa Balewa Local
Government Area, Mijinyawa Hardo, believed to be loyal to Governor
Abubakar and the state leadership of the party, was removed by some
officials loyal to Senator Wakili and Speaker Dogara.
The group accused him of side-lining members of the party as well as
alleged anti-party activities.
In another twist, however, the APC leadership in Senator Wakili's Lere
ward in Tafawa Balewa suspended him from the party.
The letter dated January 8, addressed to the local government party
chairman, signed by Markus Silas, stated that Senator Wakili was
suspended for committing offenses inimical to the progress of the
party.
However, the senator, in a statement by his senior legislative aide,
Ladan Ahmad Gumau, alleged that the plan to suspend him was hatched by
some officials of the party, with the support of the state government.
But the state leadership of the party later reiterated that the
suspension was in order as the offenses he allegedly committed were
against the party’s constitution.
Also, the member in Bauchi State House of Assembly representing
Lere/Bula constituency, Alhaji Aminu Tukur, was suspended by his
Bununu ward APC executives in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area.
However, some APC members, led by Mr Ishaku Simon and Alhaji Korau
Bununu, at a rally in Bununu, headquarters of Tafawa Balewa Local
Government Area, dismissed the alleged suspension of Senator Wakili
and the state lawmaker from the party.
They also said the people who allegedly suspended the two lawmakers
“are enemies of APC and the people of the Tafawa Balewa,” saying they
have written a letter to the state APC and the national headquarters
of the party in Abuja.
.
For now, Bauchi South seems to be the
battleground of the intra APC wrangling, as both the governor, Senator
Wakili and Speaker Yakubu Dogara are all from the same district.
However, locals complaining that this is worrisome, coming at a time
when the politicians have not reached half of their tenures and of
fulfilling their political promises....
May Almighty God grant them understanding and an everlasting reconciliation...