Governor Shema and Katsina PDP primaires

The activities of this group orchestrating this campaign became more pronounced when Katsina State executives of PDP was dissolved in April 2010, having outlived its tenure.  For instance, the State Chairman of the dissolved executive, Alhaji Kabir Maiwada Daudawa, was elected into the office in 2001. He occupied the position for almost 10 years.  Yet […]

The activities of this group orchestrating this campaign became more pronounced when Katsina State executives of PDP was dissolved in April 2010, having outlived its tenure.  For instance, the State Chairman of the dissolved executive, Alhaji Kabir Maiwada Daudawa, was elected into the office in 2001. He occupied the position for almost 10 years.  Yet the group did not see any justification for the dissolution of the executive.

According to the group, Governor Shema was destroying the party and the records the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua. However, since the former president’s death, Shema has proved to be the only ally of his who has maintained a constant relationship with the Yar’adua family.

At the occasion of the State Congress, Governor Shema told the party’s supporters that the dissolved party executives was  part of a machinery set up to use Yar’adua’s name to create confusion for selfish interest.  He declared publicly that every member of the PDP in Katsina State was Yar’adua’s supporter and urged the people to ignore the group planning to cause confusion.

Subsequent events have vindicated Governor Shema. The campaign of calumny against him and his government could not stand the test of time because it was based on deceit, selfishness, and falsehood. While the Chairman of the dissolved executive, Kabir Maiwada, later discovered that he was being misled, he retraced his steps back to PDP. The rest members of the group are gradually fading away in the State politics.

For instance, the likes of Muntari Lawal and Mustapha Inuwa who defected to the CPC have been relegated to the background.  Records have shown that the duo had parted ways with Yar’adua even before his death.  While there has been peace in PDP since the exit of this so-called group, the CPC that the group joined has not known any peace since their entrance.

The Senate’s Chief Whip, Senator Kanti Bello, captured vividly the true account of events in Katsina State when he declared during the State’s PDP congress that all of them were running around Governor Shema as the PDP leader because the governor has been doing the right thing.  Kanti Bello was not alone. At the PDP NEC meeting held on April 27, 2010, the then National Chairman of the Party, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, acknowledged the peaceful conduct of the Katsina State PDP congress and encouraged other states to emulate Katsina.

Almost eight months later, as the country prepares for this year general elections, Governor Shema is also on the threshold of history by being a PDP governor that conducted rancor-free primaries for his party in the State.

Prior to the conduct of the PDP primaries in Katsina State, Governor Shema set up a reconciliation committee in each of the three senatorial zones with a mandate to reconcile aspirants in order to reduce tension and ensure crisis-free primaries.  Governor Shema, in demonstration of true and great leader charged the three committees not to engage in any forced reconciliation.  According to him where aspirants do not willingly agree to reconcile and step down for one another, they should be allowed to participate in the primaries.

Because the state’s PDP conducted the most peaceful and transparent primaries, there has been no allegation of imposition of candidates or bias simply because the man at the helms of affairs has been living up to expectation.  Governor Shema has demonstrated on different occasions that he is a leader capable of leading his people to the Promised Land after the death of his political mentor.

Now that the party’s primaries have been conducted under a peaceful atmosphere further testify to the fact that the party remains an indivisible entity under the leadership of Governor Shema.

There is need for all progress and peace-loving people of Katsina State to rally round Governor Shema in making politics not a do-or-die affair, but an instrument for progress and development.  Governor Shema has provided responsible leadership to the people of the State for almost four years that he has been at the helm of affairs.

For instance, at the inception of his administration, he introduced the Community Development Committees (CDCs).  It is a strategy that provides respective communities with the opportunity to determine the kind of projects that are most relevant to their varying needs, thereby making it easier for the state government to provide such projects in the right places at the right time.

Today, where are those claiming to be loyalists and friends of Umar Musa Yar’adua?  They have abandoned the Yar’adua’s family because they were parasites feeding on the good name and integrity of the late President.

Tijjani Hassan, a member of Katsina State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wrote this piece from Kofar Marusa Layout, Katsina