BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR
Story in brief
No fewer than seven candidates, including two Generals, are squaring up ahead of  the 2012 Adamawa gubernatorial election

THIRTY-FOUR days to the January 14, 2012 governorship election, Adamawa State political landscape is astir with leading contenders intensifying moves to outwit one another.

Leading candidates in the battle for the Dougirei Government House, Yola such as Governor Murtala Nyako of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC); and Engr. Markus Gundiri of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) are perfecting strategies, aligning and re-aligning, closing ranks and smoothing rough edges in relations among their rank and file, to boost their chances at the polls.

Ahead of the polls, seven political parties met the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deadline for the conduct of primaries to select their flag bearers.

The parties are the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP) and Kowa Party.

Nyako and Marwa

The contenders

Governor Murtala Nyako, PDP

Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa, CPC

Engr. Markus Gundiri, ACN

Dr Zainab Kwonchi, ADC

Iliyasu Mana, SDMP

Salisu Butu, KOWA Party

Usman Ahmed, ANPP

War of Generals

Given the political clout of the contenders, electoral capacity of their parties in Adamawa and those backing them, among others, the contest is panning out as a straight fight between Nyako and Marwa, in what some observers have dubbed “the battle of the Generals.” While Nyako retired as a Naval Admiral, Marwa left the Army as a Brigadier General.

Buba Marwa

For next month’s contest, Marwa was once again handed the CPC ticket on a platter of gold. Late last year, he emerged as CPC’s standard bearer barely two days after defecting from the PDP. This time, he was returned as the party’s candidate through affirmation by delegates during the congress held at the Lamido Cinema, Yola. A last-minute withdrawal by Suleiman Abdullahi, who had stiffly opposed Marwa, paved the way for the former Borno and Lagos states military administrator, to win the ticket unopposed.

Abdullahi, who had contended that Marwa’s joining of the CPC did not follow due process, hinged his withdrawal on the overall interest of the party. “CPC must forge ahead as one family in order to win the forthcoming governorship election in January. I have decided to step down from the race in the interest of our party’s growth,” he said.

Marwa is riding on his modest achievements as military administrator of Borno and Lagos states to stake claim to the Adamawa Government House.

Nyako

Nyako, who is seeking re-election, had a field day at the PDP primary. Of the 863 delegates accredited for the exercise, Nyako polled 854 votes while his challenger, Dr Umar Ardo, got no votes even as nine votes were voided. However, Ardo has gone to court to stop Nyako, saying that the governor was not validly elected as the PDP flagbearer Nyako is brandishing his achievements as governor in the last four years as reasons to be re-elected to deliver more democracy dividends to the Adamawa citizenry.

Other gladiators

Apart from the direct combatants, there are many gladiators and political heavyweights in Adamawa, who are expected to play decisive roles in determining who would win the election.

The gladiators include former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; former Governor Boni Haruna; former Petroleum Minister, Professor Jibril Aminu; former Governor of old Gongola State, Bamangar Tukur; Ambassador Hassan Adamu; PDP North East Zonal Vice Chairman, Senator Paul Wampana; Ambassadors Fati Abubakar and Wilberforce Juta; former Governor Saleh Michika; Senator Jonathan Zwingina; former Director General of the National Boundary Commission, Dahiru Bobbo; and Senator Bello Tukur.

Alignments and re-alignments

At the last count, most of the heavy weights have queued behind either Nyako or Marwa.

After intense rivalry with Nyako, which affected his early return to the PDP from ACN, Atiku, the Turaki Adamawa, is now backing Nyako for another four years at the Government House. Atiku has not ended his presidential ambition and would need a united PDP home front to make another presidential bid in 2015. If Nyako succeeds now with his support, it would be pay back time in 2015.

Nyako also has the support of Tukur. Like Atiku, Tukur’s support for Nyako also has a huge political undertone. He needs a strong home support to boost his aspiration for the office of the national chairmanship of the PDP.

On the other hand, Marwa is said to enjoy the backing of Jubril Aminu and Boni Haruna.

Aminu, who was ‘frustrated by the PDP hierarchy from returning to the Senate, is said to be ready to teach Nyako, whom he worked assiduously for in the 2007 poll, a political lesson and has teamed up with the opposition under the banner of Adamawa Forum for Change.

At one of the group’s meetings at Haruna’s Yola residence recently, Aminu said: “Our fight is aimed at salvaging Adamawa State. It has nothing to do with sectional interest. All we are doing is to inform Adamawa people of the many sins of the government so that they can make an informed choice at the poll.”

Haruna also wants to prove that he can swim ashore out of the murky pool of Adamawa politics without the backing of his mentor, Atiku, who worked against his senatorial ambition at the 2011 polls by backing Marwa to beat Nyako.

The ACN challenge

Although pundits see PDP and CPC as the leading parties in the contest, the challenge posed by the ACN may not be glossed over. With remnants of ACN kingpins in Adamawa, Gundiri, the party’s flagbearer, said he was ready to make a political statement at the election.

Indeed, can, in the last five years, has Adamawa a bride of sorts. In 2007, ACN picked its presidential candidate from Adamawa in the person of Atiku and repeated the feat in 2011, when it nominated Malam Nuhu Ribadu. And since 2007, ACN has been making inroads into Adamawa. In 2007, it won two House of Reps slots and recorded more mileage in the 2011 elections by snatching two House of Representatives seats and four state House of Assembly slots in a contest that PDP claimed 20 seats and the CPC had one.

Gundiri and leaders of the ACN are to show that these electoral laurels were no fluke.

ACN, CPC accord

To stop the PDP, there are speculated underground moves by leaders of the ACN and CPC to collaborate at the polls. However, the moves are yet to yield dividends as none of Marwa and Gundiri has agreed to step down for the other to concretise the accord.

Recently, Marwa, in a statement, asked Gundiri to withdraw from the governorship race on the premise that he would go for one term if elected as governor. But Gundiri and ACN chieftains turned down the request because it was uncharitable as ACN outperformed CPC at the 2011 general polls in the state.

Mr. Yohanna Mathias, ACN state publicity secretary, said, “ACN with Engr. Markus Gundiri as its governorship candidate had aggregate vote cast of 506,309 in the 2011 election with two members of the House of Representatives and four House of Assembly as against Marwa’s CPC, which had 298,670 with one member of the House of Representatives and one member of House of Assembly.”

Why I’m in the race – Kwonchi

As men beat their chests on their chances, Kwonchi, the first female candidate to contest for governorship in Adamawa, has advised them to have a rethink.

The medical doctor, who served as health commissioner under Nyako, said she accepted to contest the governorship election because of the support for her candidature by men, an indication that the people of Adamawa wanted a woman for change in 2012..

Kwonchi left the PDP for CPC after her removal from commissionership some months back and later defected to the ADC where she picked the ticket through endorsement by members of the party at their primary.

“Men encouraged me to come out and contest and I feel this is a challenge and an opening for the women to make history in Adamawa,” Kwoncchi said.

She urged the people of Adamawa not to sell their votes but to vote for a candidate that knew their problem and was ready to offer selfless service.