With the recent confirmation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the successful substitution of the names of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate from Manir Dan-Iya, who won the consensus gubernatorial primaries held in the state with that of the incumbent governor, Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto State is set to witness one of its most contentious moments of electioneering.
When INEC fixed the governorship election for February 28, 2019, little did many political observers in the state envisage that the battle would be between two familiar folks as it is now in the seat of Caliphate. The forthcoming general election, especially the governorship contest in Sokoto, promises to be more competitive and interesting with clear exception to how it used to be in recent years in the state.
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It will be recalled that with the return to democracy in 1999, the defunct All Peoples Party (APP) was able to form the dominant ruling party, especially in the north-western states of the country such as Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara, with governors Attahiru Dalhathu Bafarawa, Adamu Aliero and Sani Yerima respectively. Only the then Minister for Water Resources, Mukhtar Shagari, under President Olusegun Obasanjo, who later became the deputy governor to Wamakko.
However, most of the Sokoto powerbrokers were all in the same APP then with the likes of former governor Bafarawa, immediate past governor and current chairman of Northern Senators’ Forum, Aliyu Wamakko, incumbent governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, his erstwhile deputy and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Aliyu, Umaru Kwabbo, Arzika Tureta, Mohammed Bature, Ibrahim Milgoma, Danbaba Danbuwa, Dahiru Tambuwal and a host of others.
The political romance between two former governors, Bafarawa and Wamakko, however broke down before the 2007 general election when Wamakko resigned his position as the deputy governor to Bafarawa and beat the impeachment threat looming over his head to pick the governorship ticket of the ANPP, and later moved to the PDP through the intervention of then President Obasanjo. It was Obasanjo who persuaded Mukhtar Shagari to step down and be the running mate to Wamakko due to his seeming popularity at the time.
Meanwhile, the forthcoming 2019 general election is being speculated by most political observers to be a major tussle with ex-governor Bafarawa and his former deputy and successor in office, Wamakko on one hand and the incumbent governor, Aminu Tambuwal on the platform of PDP, with his immediate past deputy, Ahmed Aliyu who is running against him on the platform of the APC.
With about three months away from the gubernatorial elections nationwide, a look at the four major personalities that will determine where the election pendulum will swing to form the next government in the seat of the caliphate will here suffice.
Attairu Dalhathu Bafarawa
He is a former two-term governor of the state between 1999 and 2007. He can easily be described as one of the most experienced politicians in the state with ample experience both at the party level as well as within government circles.
Apart from being a two-term governor, he was a presidential candidate on the platform of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) in the 2007 presidential election where he lost to the candidate of the PDP, the late Umaru Yar’adua. He was also a presidential aspirant on the platform of the PDP in 2011, 2015 and 2019 presidential primaries.
Meanwhile, many political observers believe Bafarawa has a major role to play in the coming elections. It is widely believed in the state that he still controls most of the traditional politicians in the state whom he can easily influence.
According to a party source, “The former governor will definitely work with the incumbent to send a signal to Wamakko that he is still in control of Sokoto politics. If not for anything, he will definitely want to revenge the treatment meted out to him through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), where he was recently discharged and acquitted of the corruption charges levelled against him.”
Senator Aliyu Wamakko
He is the immediate past governor and a serving senator representing Sokoto North Senatorial District and the chairman of Northern Senators’ Forum in the National Assembly. Since he burst into the limelight of politics in the state as a deputy governor to Bafarawa in 1999, before he resigned in 2006 to later run on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he won with a landslide and governed the state two terms between 2007 and 2015. Wamakko was highly influential in the election of his successor and the incumbent where he played a vital role.
However with the defection of Tambuwal to the PDP and the adoption of his erstwhile deputy by Wamakko to win the ticket of the main opposition party in the state, the APC, it is no more news that Wamakko will put everything into the race to deliver the state for his party both at the governorship polls and that of the presidential election where President Buhari is contesting against former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
Attairu Dalhathu BafarawaThe source further disclosed that Wamakko has vowed to do everything legally possible and within his reach to teach Tambuwal the bitter side of politics in the forthcoming 2019 general election in the state. Speaking on the 2019 polls, Wamakko said that President Buhari and all the candidates of the APC will sweep the forthcoming polls. Senator Wamakko also said the party and its candidates, at all levels, will not make any empty promises to Nigerians. “President Muhammadu Buhari has fulfilled all his 2015 campaign promises to Nigerians,” he said.
Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto
He is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and immediate past deputy governor to Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. Ahmed’s emergence as the candidate of the APC almost divided the party between his supporters and that of Wamakko on one hand and against the supporters of former commissioner of local government and chieftaincy affairs under Wamakko administration, Faruk Malami Yabo.
The political calculation of Senator Wamakko and other elders of the party was applauded with the way they quickly moved to save the party from collapse. The way and manner in which the leaders adopted to resolve issues generated from the primaries and picked one of the major contenders for the gubernatorial candidate, Honourable Faruk Malami Yabo as the running mate, was a masterstroke.
Aliyu is banking on the support of his political godfather, Senator Wamakko as well as the popularity of his running mate to win the state against his former boss, Tambuwal.
Aminu Waziri Tambuwal
He is the incumbent governor and the governorship candidate of the People’s PDP in the 2019 general election for Sokoto State. It is widely believed that the governor has many things working in his favour at present and may eventually win the race at the end of the day.
However, some political analysts believe that for the governor to retain his seat for another term, he would need to double up his efforts and stay more at home rather than his frequent trips.
“Imagine when we have a sitting governor who barely stays in Sokoto State. He always travels from one state to another. Forget all these talks of Wamakko being the godfather of a contestant; people still believe more in Tambuwal than the APC candidate. All I think he needs to do now is to stay more at home and identify more with his people and the election will definitely work in his favour, I can assure you,” a source told Nigerian Tribune.
Meanwhile, Nigerian Tribune gathered through another party source that majority of the high profile politicians are ready to work for the re-election of Tambuwal due to his humility, vision and doggedness.
The source added that another major perspective that will work in Tambuwal’s favour is his alliance with the grassroots and the support of former governor Bafarawa, who is believed will play a major role in the coming election.
According to the source, “You will agree with me that Bafarawa still has a score to settle with Wamakko and he can only help himself on that if he works with the incumbent governor to retire Wamakko in 2019 politically and open a new chapter in the history of Sokoto politics.”
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