24 Years of One-Zone Rule: Are We Second-Class Citizens in Gombe?
Since the return to democracy in 1999, the politics of Gombe State has quietly but firmly established a dangerous precedent: the governorship is the birthright of Gombe North, and within Gombe North, the exclusive preserve of Gombe Local Government. Let us count. Former Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, from Gombe LGA, ruled for 8 years. The […]
Since the return to democracy in 1999, the politics of Gombe State has quietly but firmly established a dangerous precedent: the governorship is the birthright of Gombe North, and within Gombe North, the exclusive preserve of Gombe Local Government.
Let us count. Former Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, from Gombe LGA, ruled for 8 years. The outgoing Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, also from Gombe LGA, will complete 8 years by 2027.
Now, the APC consensus candidate for 2027, Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna, is again from Gombe LGA. If he wins and serves 8 years, that will make it 24 straight years of governors from one senatorial zone, and indeed, one local government. This is not democracy. This is domination. Where is the equity in our “Jewel in the Savannah”?
Gombe State has 11 local governments spread across three senatorial districts: Gombe North, Gombe Central and Gombe South. Yet for 24 years, power has refused to rotate. Billiri, Kaltungo, Shongom, Balanga in Gombe South have never produced a governor. Are we less Gombe than others? Are our sons and daughters less competent, less educated, or less loyal to the state?
The argument that “the best candidate should win” collapses when only one zone keeps producing “the best candidate” for two decades. It insults the intelligence and dignity of the people of Dukku, Nafada, Funakaye, Kwami and all other LGAs outside the state capital. We have engineers, professors, technocrats and grassroots mobilisers, but the political structure has been wired to exclude us.
What makes the 2027 arrangement more painful is not just the zone but the manner in which it was imposed. The sitting governor came before party members and read out a list of so-called consensus candidates without seeking the consent of other aspirants. He announced Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna as the governorship candidate and declared himself as the senatorial candidate for Gombe North. Ironically, both Jamilu and Inuwa are from the same senatorial district, the same local government, and even the same ward, Jeka da Fari ward.
This is no longer zoning. This is ward capture of the entire state. To make matters worse, the governor abandoned highly educated individuals, intellectuals, big businessmen and engineers who had shown interest in the House of Representatives tickets of the party. In their place, he presented less qualified candidates whose only qualification appears to be loyalty to his inner circle. This is how competence is sacrificed at the altar of patronage.
The consequences of this monopoly are visible across the state. Drive from Gombe metropolis to Dukku or Tula and the disparity is clear. While roads and dual carriageways adorn the capital, many communities in Gombe South and parts of Gombe Central still beg for motorable roads, functional hospitals, schools and potable water. Budgets follow the governor’s home, and after 24 years, the gap is now a gulf. Development is no longer guided by need or fairness but by proximity to power.
Beyond infrastructure, the unity of the state is being eroded. A state cannot preach unity when power is treated as family inheritance. Young people in Biliri, Kaltungo, Balanga and Shongom are growing up believing the system is rigged. That breeds apathy, resentment, and disloyalty to the Gombe project. You cannot demand sacrifice from citizens you treat as second-class.
When the idea of a “consensus candidate” emerges from the same zone and same LGA for the third straight time, it mocks the very meaning of consensus. Where was the consultation with Gombe South and Gombe Central stakeholders? Consensus among who, and for whose benefit? When a governor handpicks candidates for himself and his ward, we are no longer in a party. We are in a private estate.
This system has also led to the wasting of a generation of leaders. Apart from Gombe Central that gave a former governor, Danjuma Goje, Gombe South has never produced a governor. Yet Gombe South has many national leaders including senators, federal House of Representatives members, and academics of national repute. They can serve Nigeria, but they cannot lead Gombe? This is the height of political injustice.
By abandoning qualified technocrats for lesser candidates in legislative races, the party is sending a clear message that competence does not matter. Loyalty to one man matters. That is how institutions are weakened and governance is reduced to personal rule.
We are not asking for pity. Rotation is not alien to Nigerian politics. The presidency has rotated between North and South to give every region a sense of belonging. Why is Gombe different? A child born outside Gombe LGA today does not have a realistic hope of governing his state in his lifetime. What do we tell that child about justice, equity, and equal citizenship? That his vote counts but his aspiration does not?
Let the political parties, elders, and kingmakers note that Gombe is bigger than Gombe LGA. Gombe North had its turn, and then another, and now seeks a third. Gombe Central and Gombe South are not spectators in this state. We are stakeholders, taxpayers, and voters. The 2027 election is a chance to correct 24 years of imbalance. Power must rotate, not for the sake of it, but for the sake of peace, development, and the very survival of Gombe as one united state. If we allow the same ward to produce both governor and senator while shutting out the rest of the state, then we are planting the seeds of division that may outlive all of us. Gombe must not become a one-ward republic.
Enough is enough.
Adamu wrote from Kaltungo Local Government, Gombe State