Jigawa: Defections of Gumel, Turaki as game changer

Though Governor Sule Lamido may not agree that his camp has been hit below the belt by the defection of his deputy, political observers say that the PDP in Jigawa State may not recover from this blow.There has been tension between Lamido and Gumel lately, arising from the anointment of Ringim as PDP governorship candidate.Political […]

Though Governor Sule Lamido may not agree that his camp has been hit below the belt by the defection of his deputy, political observers say that the PDP in Jigawa State may not recover from this blow.
There has been tension between Lamido and Gumel lately, arising from the anointment of Ringim as PDP governorship candidate.
Political observers believe that Ringim is a more astute politician than Gumel, but the failure of Lamido to reward his deputy, for being loyal, with at least a Senate seat or allow Gumel to send one his allies to the House of Assembly from his zone was said to have widened the political gap between them.
It was learnt that the people of Gumel were unhappy with the humiliation of their son and decided to go for the APC, en masse, after the conclusion of all PDP primaries in the state.
After the emergence of candidates for various elective offices in the state, it became obvious that the deputy has lost out in all fronts. He then began a hide and seek game with Lamido.
Last month, Jigawa was filled with the rumours that Gumel has defected to the APC, a development that was eventually dealt with by the quick intervention of all stakeholders in the state.
When social media were agog three weeks ago with the story that prominent PDP members and 10 commissioners have joined APC, Lamido quickly assembled all of them with other party stakeholders across the state at the government house to dispel that rumour. He later told journalists that all PDP stakeholders and commissioners were with him.
But Gumel put all the rumours to rest when he formally joined APC, about a week ago, along with a former governor of the state, Saminu Turaki, ex-senators Muhammad Dudu and ex-senator Muhammad Alkali Gumel, among others.
Analysts say the defection of these political heavy weights will, no doubt, be significant to the success of APC in the state and serve as a big blow to the PDP.
Another big problem that rocked the PDP in the state was the rumoured lack of funds to prosecute the Ringim campaign. PDP stakeholders have been discussing the issue in hush-hush tone, but no one was ready to speak with the press because of fear of repercussion.
The financial problem came to the fore three weeks ago when PDP held a TAN campaign workshop in Jigawa. Youth were invited to the workshop where they queued for a long period to register their names. After spending over three hours listening to lectures, no one could provide water for them to drink and, at the end, there was no transport allowance.
The youth later chased out the Jonathan campaign coordinator in the state who was the organiser of the event, Alhaji Yususf Alhasan.
Observers are of the opinion that Lamido did not also stick to his promise that all top government officials in the state, especially those who have spent eight years, would retire with him to give room for new faces to emerge.
Some stakeholders were shocked when he anointed his chief of staff, Ringim, who has been in office for eight years to succeed him. Ringim has previously served as chief of staff to Saminu Turaki.
Despite the development, analysts say Lamido will try to stage a good show tomorrow. But many believe that his efforts may not pay off in the end due to the Buhari factor and the defections that rocked his PDP.