Eight deputy govs defy bosses, join governorship races

All but one of the eight have already obtained nomination forms in their parties, despite the decisions of their respective governors to back others for the February 28 gubernatorial elections.The deputy governors are Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Ignatius Longjan (Plateau), Ahmed Musa Ibeto (Niger), Ibrahim K. Aliyu (Kebbi), Steven Lawani (Benue), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Mukhtari Shagari […]

All but one of the eight have already obtained nomination forms in their parties, despite the decisions of their respective governors to back others for the February 28 gubernatorial elections.
The deputy governors are Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Ignatius Longjan (Plateau), Ahmed Musa Ibeto (Niger), Ibrahim K. Aliyu (Kebbi), Steven Lawani (Benue), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Mukhtari Shagari (Sokoto) and Dameshi Barau Luka (Nasarawa).
Some of the deputy governors have been cautioned against joining the guber races by their governors, who even worked out arrangements that did not favour them.
Of the eight, only Ganduje is yet to obtain the nomination form of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), but he has publicly announced his interest in succeeding Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Though the Kano governor has yet to say who he is supporting to be governor, it is widely believed that his choice may be between Secretary to the State Government Rabiu Suleiman Bichi and former Minister of State Garba Bichi.
Kwankwaso, 58, had reportedly said he would prefer a younger person to succeed him. The governor reportedly told Ganduje, 64, several times to prepare to retire with him due to his age, but the deputy governor went ahead to announce his intention to contest for governor regardless.
Efforts to speak with Ganduje’s aide, Alhaji Bala Salihu, were not successful. But Daily Trust learnt the deputy governor’s aspiration has torn the Kwankwasiyya movement apart as some of the members are behind his candidature while others are not.
In Plateau State, Longjan has a similar case with Ganduje. He was reportedly told by Governor Jonah Jang to prepare for retirement due to age.
Jang has since indicated his support for Senator Gyang Pwajok as successor.
But Longjan, 69, has disregarded this and obtained his nomination form, which he returned to the party yesterday.
He has also been working hard to get the PDP ticket while still lobbying his boss to reconsider his position not to hand over to him.
In two other states, the deputy governors have parted ways politically with their bosses and have gone ahead to set up their campaign outfits.
This is the case in Nasarawa and Sokoto, where the deputies are in different political parties from the governors.
Luka defected to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), leaving Governor Umaru Al-Makura in the APC in which they were first elected.
For his part, Shagari remained in the PDP when Governor Aliyu Wamakko moved to the APC.
The case of Nasarawa stands out, as Al-Makura is standing for a second term, meaning Luka would be challenging his own boss in the February governorship election if he gets the PDP ticket.
In Niger State, Ibeto has been getting a cold shoulder from his boss as regards his interest to contest in 2015.
Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu had announced weeks ago that he was going to name the party’s candidate, and soon after his chief of staff Umar Mohammed Nasko came out to obtain forms with indications that he is the governor’s choice.
But the Niger deputy governor has remained in the race in spite of that, as he went ahead to obtain the PDP nomination forms.
He has also anchored his campaign on the need for experience to prevail over personal discretion.
Ibeto said he is in the race because his boss had not anointed any candidate in the PDP, dismissing reports about an endorsement as mere speculations.
He said also he stands a better chance of becoming the favoured aspirant because of the cordial relationship between him and the governor.
“I have been loyal to him; there has never been any disagreement between us. He has said in many fora that if he has to anoint anybody it should be me because of continuity,” Ibeto said.
In Kebbi State, Governor Saidu Dakingari has been reticent but it is obvious that the deputy governor is not in his calculations as regards the choice of a successor.
But the deputy governor has since indicated interest in the governorship race and has set up campaign structures.
When contacted for his reaction, Kebbi Deputy Governor Ibrahim K. Aliyu said he was being sustained in the race by the goodwill of the people.
“When you conduct an independent assessment, you will discover that I have more than 80 per cent followership in the state,” he told Daily Trust.
“They know I don’t have the money and if it is material things they want, I am the least in terms of all these things. All other contenders have colossal (amounts of) money that I do not have and yet people are set to work and support me. That is my confidence.”
In Benue, Lawani has also stepped into the race, but Governor Gabriel Suswam has carried on as if he had not noticed.
Lawani is anchoring his campaign on the need for power to rotate to the Benue South senatorial district where he hails from and which is yet to produce a governor since the creation of the state.
But it appeared Suswam has other ideas and has already endorsed a different aspirant from Benue North-West zone.
In Ebonyi State, Deputy Governor Dave Umahi is working to challenge former Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu, who Governor Martin Elechi has endorsed for the guber race.
Foretold
In January, Daily Trust reported exclusively that all the governors in their second terms were planning to ditch their deputies to pick other persons as successors.
States whose governors are finishing their second terms in May 2015 are Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Benue, Niger, Plateau, Kebbi, Lagos, Rivers, Cross River, Delta, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia and Akwa Ibom.
Deputy governors wanting to succeed their bosses have had to fight on their own since the 2007 general elections, making it much harder for them to make it.
Since the return of democracy in 1999, only then-Zamfara Deputy Governor Mamuda Shinkafi received express support of his principal in governorship elections. He won the 2007 elections and succeeded Governor Ahmed Sani, though they fell apart soon after that.