KOGI 2011: HOW GOVERNOR IDRIS' IN-LAW EMERGED AS PDP GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE

Penultimate  Friday, Captain Idris Wada emerged as the Peoples' Democratic Party  Governorship  candidate for the December 3, 2011 election beating his closest rival, Isa Kutepa to pick the party ticket.

Before last Friday primary, at Lokoja Stadium, where Captain Wada emerged as flag bearer, party faithful sympathetic to the cause of Jubrin Isah Echocho had questioned the rationale behind the party national leadership position to conduct fresh primary. The PDP National Working Committee decision to conduct fresh primary did not go down well with some stakeholders in the party.

Echocho's supporters had staged a protest at the party national secretariat, over the PDP NWC resolve for a fresh primary.

A group, Kogi PDP Frontiers led by Comrade Johnson Musa had protested, submitting  that the party  last year conducted  a primary that produced Alhaji Jibrin  Isah Echocho and should be upheld.

''The last primaries had produced unequivocally and unanimously elected a candidate in the person of Alhaji Jibrin Isah. He was presented with the party flag at Lafia during President Goodluck Jonathan's campaign in the north central zone'.

'We have come to proclaim that the idea of a re-run primary is unpopular and will only result in mass exodus of votes to the opposition. Already, there are pointers to an impending protest votes

because of the decision to change the PDP candidate.'

'The PDP is about to lose Kogi State because we are going to mobilize for mass exodus. We will not recognise any other counterfeit candidate. Alhaji Jibrin Isah is the only candidate we know, ' Musa declared.

Same day that the group staged its protests, Captain Idris surfaced from the blues, to pick the nomination form for the scheduled primary

election.  The message of his visit: that he was the anointed candidate of Governor Idris, ahead of the primary was not lost on

members of the party present at the party national secretariat, as the

Speaker of the state house of assembly, Honourable Abdullahi Bello led other state lawmakers, to accompany Captain Idris Wada to Wadata Plaza, to pick his form.

Daily Sun investigations revealed that Echocho was involved in certain unsavoury acts, which infuriated Governor Idris, before he finally made up his mind to dump him.

Before the ruling by an Abuja Federal High court which elongated the tenure of five governors by one year including that of Governor Idris of Kogi state, Echocho was already being addressed as 'His Excellency' and all the paraphernalia of the office of the governor were freely put at his disposal.

Trouble started for Echocho when Governor Idris was  inundated  with a security report which was alleged to have fingered the party governorship candidate,   spending huge sums of money to ensure that the Federal High Court dismiss the petitions filed by the five governors over the actual date of their leaving office. This was said to have infuriated Idris who then decided to keep Echocho at arm's length, politically.

Echocho was alleged to have worsened his case at Iyara, headquarter of Ijumu local government area where Senator Smart Adeyemi distributed some cars and motorcycles to people of his Constituency.

Echocho was reported to have deliberately broken protocol when he came in company of thugs to the occasion almost an hour when the governor was already seated.

The manner of his entering into the venue of the occasion was said to have caused some stir, to the extent that Idris was quoted to have said ' 'Is this the person who said he wants to become governor yet anywhere he goes he will be parading thugs?'

Right at that venue, Idris was said to have made up his mind to withdraw his support for Echocho and had substituted him with his brother in - law, Captain Idris Wada, even though his son Mohammed and Senator Adeyemi were alleged  to be in the forefront for Echocho's candidature.

Four days after the event at Iyar a, the Senate President came into Lokoja on his way to the burial ceremony of the late Chief of Staff Augustus Aikhomu and   had useful discussions with Idris on how the party could conduct a hitch free primary.

In the night of governor's meeting with the Senate President, all the federal lawmakers in the state led by Smart Adeyemi also held a meeting with the governor where they told him the need to support Echocho.

But according to findings, one of the ploys used by Idris to outsmart those agitating against his anointed candidate was to rein state all political office holders who resigned from his cabinet to contest for various elective positions and lost, as most of them were already working against the governor's perceived candidate.

This scheming actually worked out as Chief Abiodun Ojo former commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources who contested the January 9th governorship primary and lost was wooed to support Captain Wada with a promise that he would be made his running mate.

It was a serious setback for another contender, Isa Kutepa as he lost a great supporter  who was in control of a great number of delegates from Kabba /Bunu/ Ijumu federal constituency.

Again, one of the schemings of the Idris camp was to sideline  the federal lawmakers from the state who had openly thrown their support for Echocho. The camp concentrated more on the 22 PDP members of state legislators who gave so much leverage to produce delegates from their various constituencies aside from the statutory adhoc delegates which government had good grip of.

Also delegates loyal to Idris camp were camped at the government house 24 hours to the election so that opponent could not make any incursion to woo them to their side

This really rattled other aspirants that most of them threw in the

towel. Those who boycotted the primary include Air Vice Marshal Isaac Alfa, Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba, Saliu Atawodi. Isah Jubrin Echocho came to the venue of the primary only to walk out  few minutes later.

In unison, they alleged  high handedness and said there could not be a free, fair and transparent primary when  there were malpractices in the election of over 75 per cent of the delegates.

Echocho while addressing newsmen showed a  sizeable numbers of his delegates who he said were denied accreditation on the ground that their names were not found in the register .

He later told newsmen that aside from this, he was opting out of the race because according to him as a law abiding citizen, he was bound to comply with a federal high court injunction which barred INEC and PDP from conducting the primary.

However, the primary election which was concluded about   1 am penultimate Friday went peacefully as security was tight in and around the venue of the election and party faithful described the party primary as  very credible.

But puncturing the allegation of malpractices, State chairman of PDP in the state, Hassan Salawu told Daily Sun that nobody could have tampered with the list as it was handled by the party national secretariat.

''The primary did not fall within the purview of the state executive, but the national secretariat. We did not see any delegates list, until the day of the primary.

The election was conducted in the open and televised live by the Nigerian Television Authority. We cannot have it more transparent

than that.''
Announcing the results, the leader of four- man PDP Electoral committee, Prince Jare Olateru Olagbegi declared Captain Idris Wada as winner having scored 567 votes to beat Kutepa who had 296 votes and Philip Salawu deputy governor of the state who scored only two votes.

Observers however said if PDP must win the December 3rd governorship election, conscious efforts must be made by the governor to reconcile

all aggrieved parties as many of the aspirants  have vowed to work for the opposition party.

They noted that it was wrong for the sitting governor to have imposed his -in-law (Wada's brother is married to Governor Idris daughter)

as the party  flag bearer.
But a lawmaker in the state, Honourable Friday Sani, representing Igalamela/Odolu state constituency dismissed the argument as puerile.

He told Daily Sun that  no law in the country bars  an in-law of a sitting governor from seeking an elective office.

'Yes, no doubt Captain Wada is an in-law to the governor but does that relationship now prohibits him as an indigene of Kogi State from contesting elections? You and I are aware that it is a constitutional right for one to, either vow for position, either contest, or support anybody of your choice to be elected into positions. There is no provision of the constitution that prohibits an in-law of a person from contesting election. As a matter of fact that must be stated clearly; the issue of the governor supporting Captain Wada, because he is an in-law is honestly unfounded.

I   was in the vanguard of how he emerged today   and I wasn't under any influence. As I speak with you, I am a member of the state house of assembly. I won my election, I am an independent person; I am not an appointee of Governor Idris.  It isn't under any influence

that we resolved to support Captain Wada.'