Sokoto 2015: Waiting for PDP’s candidate

This is so because Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamalko is determined to secure victory for his party, the APC at all cost.  Observers of politics in the state are therefore very interested in who becomes the flag-bearer of the PDP in Sokoto. Monday, December 8, 2014 has been slated for the primary election. Senator Abubakar Gada, […]

This is so because Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamalko is determined to secure victory for his party, the APC at all cost.  
Observers of politics in the state are therefore very interested in who becomes the flag-bearer of the PDP in Sokoto. Monday, December 8, 2014 has been slated for the primary election.
Senator Abubakar Gada, Senator Abdullah Wali, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, the incumbent deputy governor, Barrister Mukhtari Shehu Shagari, are all interested in the governorship ticket. And each of them has relative political pedigree, sizeable followership and personality profile that make him a force to be reckoned with.
In fact, it is in recognition of the caliber of aspirants in the PDP that Governor Wamakko, despite his power of incumbency, is very much interested in its eventual candidate.  
Senator Abubakar Gada is believed to have the backing of the powers-that- be in Abuja. He is also seen as a rugged fighter. But the APC spin doctors do not see him as a threat. Their evaluation is based on what they call his serial failure to go back to the Senate, as well as his inability to secure victory for any of the candidates he supported in his Gada Local Government Area. It is also believed that Gada hails from what the electorate call the wrong senatorial district.
Again, it is believed that Sokoto senatorial district would produce the next governor of the state; hence the APC has consciously chosen its prospective candidates.
Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, a former Minister of Transport and Sports at different periods, like Gada, is a young politician who has much going for him. A descendant of the Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio, Suleiman enjoyed good education, high profile appointments and the material resources needed in politics. He is also from Sokoto South, which is not a good selling point for him. His objective but critical admirers believe that he would add more value to his party if he picks ticket as a running mate.
It is also true that the entrance of the speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal into the governorship race, who is from the preferred Sokoto North senatorial district, is a plus for the APC, but Abdallah Wali has the pedigree of a one-time senator. He was PDP’s flag-bearer in 2003. He is a former minister, and lately, the Nigerian Ambassador to Morocco. The public cherish his attributes, including Islamic scholarship and moral rectitude.
However, Senator Wali would have to tackle the problem of his long absence from the political scene and in the affairs of the party. It is alleged that he abandoned the people and the party after the 2003 election, which he lost. Further, his association with former Governor Bafarawa could count as a liability rather than as an asset. Opinion is strong in many quarters that Bafarawa hopes to use Wali as a tool to get his pound of flesh from Governor Wamakko and the Sultan. The PDP will definitely be excited if Wali wins on Monday.
Mukhtar Shehu Shagari, like Yusuf Suleiman, comes from one of the most respected families in Sokoto and beyond. It is believed that Shagari has the rectitude to put Sokoto back on the right track. He is also coming into the contest with political antecedents. He served for a long time as Minister of Water Resources, a two-term deputy governor and other important political positions.
He is the only minister from the state ever conferred with the national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic. He is also the first president of the African Council of Ministers on Water. He is seen as a man of patience, perseverance and humility.
These attributes were demonstrated during the 2007 elections when, upon his party’s directive, he relinquished the governorship ticket to Aliyu Wamakko after he had won it. His unwavering loyalty to Wamakko as a deputy governor since 2007 till date, in spite of all the travails he experienced, speaks well him.    
As PDP’s primary election holds Monday, it is expected that delegates would do the right thing.
Ayuba Ahmad is a Kaduna-based public affairs analyst.