Governorship primary: The untold intrigues in APC

The emergence of Prince Abubakar Audu as the All Progressives Congress, APC governorship candidate in the forthcoming Kogi governorship election was achieved using all tricks and traction available to him.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara;Senate President, APC Chirman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun Dr. Bukola Saraki and President Muhammadu Buhari at the APC NEC Meeting.

By Kingsley Fanwo

Prior to last Saturday’s governorship primary, many had on the strength of his visibility tipped Alhaji Yahaya Bello to trounce the 27 other aspirants. That was despite allegations and counter allegations of plans to manipulate the process by almost all the aspirants.

The decision of the National Working Committee of the party to appoint the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai as the Chief Returning Officer underlined the party’s determination to ensure a free hand in the primary election. The past experiences in which the panel for membership registration and another for the National Assembly and State House of Assembly primaries were hijacked by some forces within the party informed the choice of the no-nonsense governor.

On arrival in Lokoja, Gov. El-Rufai told all that he was poised to create a level playing ground for all aspirants. He said the party was ready to test-run some innovations in conducting a free, fair and credible primary.

Credible primary

This changed the entire political permutations in the party as aspirants jacked up their consultations with delegates to woo them into their camps.

The horse trading that had been going on for most of the campaigns reached a peak on Friday, the day before the election. Delegates were camped in different hotels by the aspirants in a bid to safeguard them from being poached by rivals.

Focus was basically on delegates from Kogi West with their leaders clearly against Prince Abubakar Audu. Efforts by the former governor to placate the Kogi West leaders were rebuffed ostensibly to repay the former governor for his alleged role in imposing candidates on the party in the last primaries in the state.

With the prospects of losing votes from Kogi West and Kogi Central, Prince Abubakar Audu on election eve, drew up fresh strategies to help him penetrate the hostile zones.

First, he alleged at a meeting with chairmen of the nine Local Government Areas from Kogi East that their zone was about to for the first time lose the ticket of the party, and possibly, their grip on power in the State. Affirming that the Igalas could not afford to lose the governorship, the nine party chairmen that day in Audu’s Lokoja residence, endorsed his candidature.

The chairmen thereafter proceeded to reach all their ward chairmen that the Igala  votes should be given wholly to Agaba Idu, as Prince Audu is fondly called.

This became the masterstroke that boosted Prince Audu’s chances.

The second card was to reach out to Otunba Dino Melaye, the Senator representing Kogi West. Sources said Melaye while mindful of the determination of his people for power shift was also conscious of the fact that Audu was instrumental to his own victory in the APC Senate primary. The case against him is under hot dispute at the tribunal where Senator Smart Adeyemi is proving a strong threat

To clear the way for Prince Audu, the second joker was deployed.

Foot soldiers were deployed to split the ranks of other aspirants.

Indeed as it became obvious that Bello was about to get a massive boost as it was alleged that some aspirants from the Central District were on the verge of stepping down for him, Audu’s camp allegedly promised one of the aspirants from Kogi Central the position of Deputy Governorship. At this point, associates of Senators Dino Melaiye and Mohammed Ohiare started campaigning for the said candidate.

Rousing ovation

The idea was to boost the spirit of the delegates from Kogi Central that their best chance was not Yahaya Bello. It was gathered that the same promise was made to another aspirant from the central.

The aim of the plot was to split the votes of the delegates from Kogi Central since it was obvious that Kogi West had agreed to support Yahaya Bello.

Meanwhile, indications to the unanimity of Kogi East around Audu was unveiled when Audu stormed the election arena and was given a rousing ovation by the delegates. It was obvious to all at that time that Audu had secured Kogi East.

Sources also told Vanguard that passionate appeals were made to a national leader of the party in Lagos to appeal to Prince Babatunde Irukera to drop out of the race to reinforce the plan for splitting Kogi Central votes. It was at that point that many discovered that the support of Sen. Mohammed Ohiare for Alh. Abubakar Sanusi Gamji was a decoy to ensure Kogi Central was unable to present a common front in the primary election.

The outcome of the election justified the intrigues that predated the primary. In the end, Kogi Central shared their votes to three aspirants; Kogi East massively supported Prince Audu while Kogi West supported Yahaya Bello.

Also, Prince Abubakar Audu used the old warhorses in the former ANPP to penetrate the ranks of the delegates to achieve victory.

Political pundits

Political pundits in the state believed Kogi Central handed the governorship ticket of the party to Prince Audu. With Bello’s 709 votes, Nurudeen Abatemi’s 400 votes and Sanusi Abubakar’s 301 votes; Kogi Central would have clinched the ticket with a consensus arrangement. The alleged failure of Nurudeen Abatemi and Alh. Sanusi Abubakar to attend a meeting convened by the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, HRM Dr. Ado Ibrahim to appeal to Ebira aspirants to ensure consensus is an indication of the fact that Prince Audu used his political sagacity to checkmate the immediate desire for power rotation in the state.

Bello remains the beautiful bride of the contest. His smart move to congratulate Audu when many others were threatening to defect is viewed by analysts as his own way of aligning with the Audu forces. Many are even tipping him for the Deputy Governorship ticket of the APC. But his close confidants confided in Vanguard that the Okene-born business mogul is weighing his political future. Wherever he chooses to go, he will surely command cult-like followership as the flagship of generational shift in Kogi politics.

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