•The issues in Rivers Adamawa

By Omeize Ajayi

The primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC might long have been concluded but it did not end without leaving in its wake several high-profile casualties who today are still nursing their wounds.

Among the major casualties are the Zamfara state Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, his counterparts in Ogun and Imo, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun and Rochas Okorocha.

There are other big losers but these three stand out for some reasons.

For one, Yari is the Chairman, Nigerian Governor’s Forum NGF, a very influential position. Okorocha is the Chairman, Progressive Governors Forum, a platform for all APC governors. Amosun is a long-standing political ally of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Governors Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State and Rochas Okorocha of Imo State,

In spite of these, political analysts were not particularly dazed by what became their lot as many felt that they met their comeuppance.

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In Imo where Okorocha wanted his son In-law to succeed him, the national leadership of the party had asked him to decide between his senatorial ambition and his desire to retain the governorship for Mr Uche Nwosu. He did not bulge. To be fair, those who argue against Nwosu’s candidacy did not do so on the grounds that he was not qualified to lead the state, but on account of his relationship with the governor. Okorocha, being the only APC governor in the Southeast believes that he has done a lot to build the party in the zone and should therefore be compensated. Perhaps, if the governor had not been so brazen in appointing his own family members into public offices ab initio, the opposition to Nwosu’s candidacy might not have been so virulent.

In Zamfara, Yari’s threat to the national leadership of the party was the final nail on the coffin of his ambition to have his Finance Commissioner, Mukhtar Idris replace him.

Having secured a senatorial ticket for himself, the governor felt he needed to succeed himself with Idris, despite fierce opposition from Sen. Kabir Marafa, another contender. But while at the height of the killings in the state the governor abdicated his responsibility as chief security officer of the state on the grounds that he did not control any of the security agencies, Yari soon found his “mojo” when the National Working Committee NWC of the party canceled the first primaries and insisted on the conduct of fresh direct primaries, having also announced the dissolution of the party executives in the state down to the local governments. Yari was emphatic that he remained the chief security officer of the state and that the NWC panel should not enter the state because he would not guarantee their security.

Amosun on his part also secured for himself a senatorial ticket. But arguments have been made as to the fidelity of the exercise which saw the emergence of Dapo Abiodun as governorship candidate to the chagrin of the governor.

In Rivers state, Sen. Magnus Abe did not also have it rosy in spite of the Supreme Court judgement which nullified the Ojukaye Flag-Amachree led executive, as the NWC has insisted that the apex  court’s verdict has nothing to do with   the primaries conducted for the governorship and legislative positions in the state.

Therefore, the candidature of Arch. Tonye Cole along with his running mate, Hon. Victor Giadom remains inviolate, while the list of its candidates for the governorship, National Assembly, and House of Assembly have been processed, the party said.

In Adamawa, in spite of   attempts by the national leadership of the party to pave way for the emergence of an In-law of President Muhammadu Buhari, Gov. Jubrilla Bindow triumphed against all odds.

First, the NWC forced direct primaries on the state in spite of protests from the governor’s camp who wanted indirect primaries.

The NWC went ahead to bar the executives of the party in the state, who were obviously loyal to the governor, from superintending over the conduct of the exercise.

In spite of these, the governor went ahead to trounce Dr Halilu Mahmood, brother to Mrs Aisha Buhari. This development might perhaps have been responsible to the recent criticism on the party by the President’s wife.