Opposition political parties in Zamfara State are doing a lot to take advantage of the stalemate in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) by intensifying their campaign activities and showcasing their manifestos to the public in the state.
While the APC is battling with protracted crisis in courts and within its rank, the biggest opposition party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has fielded its governorship and other candidates for this year’s general elections.
Dr. Bello Muhammad Mutawalle is PDP’s gubernatorial candidate. Many people have secured the party’s ticket for both the state and National Assembly and are collectively campaigning across Zamfara State.
Dr. Mutawalle was a lawmaker who reprsented Bakura/Maradun Federal constituency. He flagged off his campaign gubernatorial campaign activities about three weeks ago amidst pomp and pageantry.
PDP was at a time the ruling government in Zamfara State; and it still commands a large number of supporters across the state.
Unlike many other smaller parties, PDP has its structures already in place in every nook and cranny of the state. While other parties may still be struggling to put up their structures in the state owing to the fact that most of them are newly formed, the PDP is almost at peace with istself.
Secondly, Dr. Mutawalle has the financial wherewithal to prosecute his campaigns and is very willing to commit resources to that effect.
His vast outreach is also working for him. H had served as commissioner during the tenure of ex Governor Ahmad Sani Yarima. There are insinuations that their relationship is still cordial.
Dr. Mutawalle later contested for the Bakura/ Maradun Federal Constituency and won on the platform of the defunct ANPP. He later defected to PDP shortly after Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi who won the governorship under the platform of ANPP defected to the PDP.
In 2015, Mutawalle was defeated when he contested for the governorship ticket and lost to Shinkafi during the primaries. Shinkafi later defected to APC but Dr. Mutawalle remained in PDP.
There are speculations that some APC bigwigs are working with him ahead of the March 2 governorship election.
“Many of them are ready to support him in the event they failed to participate in the election considering the crisis in the APC,” one of the sources said.
Senator Saidu Muhammad Dansadau is gubernatorial candidate of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).
His campaign strategy is something that can fetch him massive votes, analysts say.
He has been trying to mobilize rural communities to vote for him and one of the key issues in his campaign is eliminating armed banditry and cattle rustling.
Daily Trust reports that the menace of cattle rustling, kidnapping and armed banditry has been plaguing the rural dwellers in the state for quite a long time and anyone willing to help the communities out of these evils stand to become a friend to them.
Dansadau has been going from one community to the other campaigning on this key security issue and many observers believed that the strategy would most likely be in his favour.
Observers opined that the crises rocking the ruling APC in the state would be a wonderful opportunity for the opposition parties, but should APC be allowed to field candidate, the narrative could change because the party’s chances of wining is still high despite many difficulties and set backs it faced in recent times.
Another notable governorship candidate in the state is Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). He has been contesting for governorship candidate since 2011. His campaign is premised on job creation for the youths, security and revamping agriculture.
There are many notable people vying for different positions under the platform of APGA and are campaigning alongside the gubernatorial candidate to achieve their aim with all seriousness like never before.
For instance, the candidate vying for Gusau/ Tsafe Federal Constituency on the APGA’s platform, Dr. Abdullahi Maiwada has trained, inducted and empowered 250 youths and women in entrepreneurial development and skills acquisition in different trades as part of his campaign strategy.
Dr. Maiwada said his mission is to have a self reliant and empowered society where poverty is reduced to the barest minimum through skilled based employed youths and women in Zamfara State thereby reducing insecurity and other forms of crimes in the society.
Many other candidates on different political party platforms have geared up their campaign rallies like never before, strongly believing that the crisis in the ruling APC would serve as booster and motivation to them to clinch the positions they are vying for.
The Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) which has Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (rtd) as its presidential candidate is also cashing on the crisis in Zamfara to make an inroad.
Its governorship candidate in the state, Alhaji Bashir Adamu IMAD, has got the endorsement of good number of political parties in the state even though his campaign rally is not as visible as the rest of the opposition parties.
Some of the voters who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday said they would still cast their votes during the forthcoming elections despite the fact that the candidates of their choice were not fielded for the elections.
One of the, Kabiru Moriki, said: “To me, APC’s Mukhtar Shehu Idris is the way to go, but in the event his party did not succeed in the court, I will go for Senator Dansadau of NRM. I’m convinced that he too will turn things around if he wins,” said.
But a resident of Gusau, Umar Maru said he is not happy with most of the things happening in Zamfara in recent times.
“I will not participate in the election, this is not because the APC is not fielding candidate, I wont exercise my civic right this time around,” he said.
Sani Aliyu said he would also not participate in the election because a member of the factional aspirants known as G- 8, that is the Deputy Governor of the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Wakkala could not make it as the APC’s candidate.
“It is my conviction that had that man who is my choice made it, I would definitely vote for him because he will deliver on his promises,” he said.
“It is not about political party but the credibility and acceptability of the contestants,” he added.
Abubakar Abubakar said he has confidence in Dansadau. “I will go and cast my vote for him,” he said.
APC not deterred
However, despite all its travails in the courts and the reluctance of INEC to recognize its candidates, the APC in the state is till holding campaign rallies.
Leaders of the party said they are banking on the Zamfara High Court judgement which ruled in their favour and directed INEC to recognize their candidates, including Governor Abdulaziz Yari who is rounding up his second term and now contesting for the Senate.
The October 7 party’s primary elections were mired in controversy. Eight governorship aspirants known as group 8 ganged up to challenge the decision of Governor Yari to anoint his Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Mukhtar Shehu Idris as his successor.
The group of 8 include Senator Kabiru Marafa, the state Deputy Gov. Wakkala Muhammad, the Minister of Defence, Brigadier Gen. Mansur Dan Ali (rtd) and Alhaji Sagir Hamidu Gusau.
Others are former Gov. Shinkafi, Alhaji Abu Magaji, a federal lawmaker representing Kaura Namoda/ BirninMagaji Constituency; Alhaji Sani Jaji and Alhaji Dauda Lawal Dare.
Following the crisis in the Zamfara APC, its leaders failed to submit list of candidates on time and on the expiration of the dateline, INEC said it will not accept any list.
The APC then challenged INEC a High Court in Gusau and a judgement was delivered in the party’s favour last January.
But another High Court in Abuja countered, saying there was no primary election in Zamfara. An appeal is now pending and only the outcome will determine how the impasse will be resolved.
