A ballot box filled with ballot is pictured before being counted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at a polling station in Yenagoa, in Nigeria's Bayelsa State, on April 16, 2011, after Nigeria's crucial presidential election and a bid by Africa's most populous country to hold its cleanest polls for head of state since the end of military rule. AFP PHOTO / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI
By Haruna Usman, Birnin Kebbi
March the 18th,2023, governorship elections has entered the book of history in Kebbi’s series of governorship polls, it is not only historic but unprecedented, reason since the return of democracy there has never been an inconclusive governorship elections in Kebbi state.
A keenly contested elections heralded by massive votes buying lost credibility of elections that seeks to produce good leadership.
The election defied the expectations of voters and political analyst in the state it also absolutely disfigured their permutations because it took a dramatic twist away from what analyst arrived at before the polls.
In the opposition PDP led by political goliaths the likes of Senator Adamu Aliero, the former minister Kabiru Tanimu, Bello Bala a cabinet minister, General Ishaya Bamaiyi, general Bello Sarkin Yaki and a host of other mighty political juggernuts in the opposition fold one thinks the journey would be smooth for general Bande the Guber candidate.
The dou of Aliero and the former Senate leader is indeed a strong bond which the analyst focast a resounding win for Bande, in Argungu where Dr Yahya controls comprises four local governments so the permutations was that he will deliver at least two out of the four for Bande, while Senator Aliero who delivered for himself at least 7 local governments out of 8 in Kebbi central was expected to deliver at least four or five but from the results announced by INEC only two local governments under his control were won by PDP they are Aliero and Kalgo.
On the other hand the former Senate leader only produced one local government from his strong hold which is Argungu, as it stands no one can figure out the reason behind what has happened.
Ishaya Bamaiyi from banditry ravaged emirate of Zuru was expected by analyst to bank on it to deliver for PDP but from the results announced even Zuru fell to the merciless APC who meant business, heap of refugee and unaccounted number of kidnappings and killings didn’t deter the voters from helping the APC to holds sway looking so bright from the foregoing.
A disjointed opposition party faced the incumbent party with a pretentious unity as many camps sprang up in the PDP fold fueling internal wrangling, the split came to fore during the build up for the party’s primaries where two state chairmen emerged each parading himself as the authentic chairman of the party.
The two state primaries were held simultaneously one produced Usman Bello Suru the current chairman the other produced Ibrahim Na manzo Argungu it took the intervention of the court to settle the malaise nonetheless the hidden cold war continues with Tanimu camp and Dr Bello Haliru’s as the cold war narrowed Bande chances at the polls because they refused to fully support his governorship project which squeezed him to a lone runner.
Now in the APC camp a conglomerate of inexperienced politicians because only a few of them have a national political outlook the likes of the former governor of Kebbi state Saidu Nasamu Dakin Gari , Abubakar gari malam a former Guber candidate under DPP and Bagudu a two times governor and senator made up the camp, it was tough for them during the presidential elections as they were unable to deliver Kebbi for Tinubu but soon after the polls they got their acts together and squarely faced the governorship elections with a new breed politician Dr Nasir Idris and were able to come out with an impressive results as their candidate led before the inconclusive declaration.
However, the outcome gave the inexperienced APC a boost ,now with 90,000 votes in the winds the fire has been reignited both parties will swim in the trouble waters perhaps the PDP would surprise them at the rerun but if the opposition gets it’s acts together by putting their house in a proper shape as it stands the APC is coasting to victory though the project is still very much alive but the PDP needs some sort of divine and human intervention to upturn the comfortable lead of the APC in Kebbi state, as voters awaits INEC for rerun is certainly going to be a very grazy one.
