A press release signed and made available to newsmen by the Press Secretary to the Governor, Abubakar Al-Sadique contained that the Governor will this week commence the process of selecting a new Deputy to fill up the vacuum created by the resignation.
The release further contained that the Governor who is on an official engagement in Abuja is to return to Bauchi and have consultations with critical stakeholders from the Northern Senatorial district where the new Deputy Governor is expected to emerge before transmitting the name of the nominee to the Bauchi State House of Assembly for confirmation.
The release also contained that “consultations will be done because His Excellency, Governor Mohammed Abubakar wishes to carry all the critical stakeholders along in selecting the Deputy Governor as done in 2015 where Engineer Nuhu Gidado emerged”.
“It would be recalled that Governor Mohammed Abubakar, had the prelude to the nomination of a running mate to the governor consulted with critical APC stakeholders from the Northern senatorial district where they voted to select the deputy gubernatorial candidate”, the release added.
Before the swearing in of the nominee for the post of deputy governor, the State House of Assembly, which is on recess, is expected to suspend the break and return to deliberate on the nomination as a matter of urgent public importance.
In line with the provisions of the 1999 constitution as amended, Mohammed Abubakar wishes to hasten the nomination and eventual confirmation of the new deputy governor because he does not want to leave a vacuum created by the resignation the former deputy governor.
Meanwhile, the there are strong indications that the Chief of Staff at the Government House, Architect Audu Sule Katagum and other personalities from the Northern zone of the state have been lined up to fill the vacant Bauchi seat of the Deputy Governor.
Feelers have it that the Chief of Staff, Architect Audu Sule Katagum is the leading contender and may eventually emerge as the new Deputy to the State Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar because he is a close ally of the Governor and is seen as a very powerful figure in the Governor’s inner circle and kitchen cabinet.
A very reliable source closed to the Government revealed that the Chief of Staff had been penciled down long ago by the Governor to run with him as his running mate for the 2019 gubernatorial elections when it became glaring that Nuhu Gidado was not ready to go with the Governor again due to irreconcilable political differences and had threatened to resign at different times but remained until last Wednesday due to interventions by prominent indigenes of the state.
However, the resignation of Nuhu Gidado, according to the source, has opened a window of opportunity and has provided a chance for Audu Sule Katagum from Katagum zone of the Northern senatorial district to possibly produce the next Deputy Governor.
The source confidently told our Bauchi State Correspondent that, “the Governor is going to pick Audu Sule Katagum because the zone had been agitating for it coupled with the fact that there is an intense political rivalry between Katagum and the Jama’are Emirates where the ex-Deputy Governor came from. That was why Katagum zone had not been giving the government the needed support because they said they were marginalized despite their numerical strength when it comes to the election”.
“With this recent development, the Deputy governorship position will be shifted to Katagun Emirate. All he (the Governor) needs to do now is to confirm the Chief of Staff as the new deputy and then pacify Jama’are Emirate by appointing someone from there as the Chief of Staff to replace Audu Sule Katagum”, he said.
The source added that “Since he voluntarily resigned his office, he (Nuhu Gidado) has relinquished a very important position belonging to Jama’are Emirate. So, it will be better for the Governor to take the position elsewhere and win new political front and supporters for himself rather than to appoint someone from the same Jama’are Emirate”.
“Tactically, it will not be the best for the Governor to pick someone from Jama’are Emirate again because the former Deputy Governor who resigned has his supporters who will move with him. So, if he appoints someone from there, he will have a 50-50 chance come 2019 because some will support the former Deputy while others will support the newly appointed person from the same area as deputy governor”, he opined.
Another person in the line is a former Minority Leader of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Baba Suleiman Katagum who also hails from Katagum, zone and is believed to be a fearless grassroots politician suited for the office of the number two man in the state because many are of the opinion that his youthful posture would swell support for the Governor in 2019.
Baba Suleiman Katagum is presently the Director-General of Bauchi State Geographic Information System (BAGIS) and had campaigned vigorously for the emergence of the Governor during the 2015 general elections.
As the search for a new Deputy Governor hots up, others reportedly being considered for the seat, according to reports, include the member representing Azare/Madangala constituency in the Bauchi State House of Assembly and a retired banker and brother to the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu.
As it is now, political onlookers and analysts are watching how the pendulum will swing particularly how the Governor will be able to swim out of the murky political waters he has found himself considering the political difficulties he is presently facing from all fronts.
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