Ahmed Tukur examines the state of affairs in Nasarawa’s opposition PDP, following the suprising level of solidarity to President Jonathan during the party’s presidential rally, as the countdown to the new elections date continues
Since after the 2011 general elections that threw the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa state into an opposition umbrella, the party went underground but little did people know that they have since united and formed a formidable force making them stronger than ever before.
The recent visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to the state for the 2015 presidential campaigns caught many people off-guard, bearing in mind the calibre of people and stakeholders that graced the occasion in each of the local governments. People came in their thousands from all walks of life and spread across all the Local Government areas of the state. It was like a carnival of the old and young, men and women, including school children and a considerable number of workers within the state civil service. Not even beggars and destitute were left out.
As if it was the ruling party in the state, people came out in droves – with passion and zeal – to embrace members of state and national working committee as well as the campaign team led by Ahmadu Ali.
It was a moment that speeches were not in short supply. All the speakers stressed the need for cordial relationship between party supporters and stakeholders and equally took their time to blow up anti-Labaran Maku’s sentiments, the former minister of Information over the information which filtered in – that Jonathan was behind his defection to All Progressives Grand Alliance ( APGA ) to continue with his pursuit of gubernatorial ambition.
Immediately after the president’s visit the state chapter of the PDP continued with its campaign to woo voters for the party .The outing was seriously felt by the people, who displayed so much unity of purpose. Not even the scorching sun could dampen their resolve to honour and demonstrate their appreciation for the party they said gave them hope and life but also showed their regrets for the actions they took that now threw the state “20 years backwards.” Not only did they show remorse but openly declared their unreserved apology and promised to work for the victory of the party in forthcoming elections in the state.
The campaign, which started in Nasarawa west senatorial district with Panda development area and Karu and Keffi local government area witnessed a mammoth crowd with over two thousand youths decampees thronging to venues of each of the rally.
Stakeholders in their separate speeches promised to work for the party and ensure victory. Senator Walid Jibrin, PDP Board secretary urged the people to desist from campaigns along religious and ethnic lines, saying that PDP is “the light that brightens every home”.
Senator Walid explained that the state and the country at large are at the risk of stagnation if such acts continued.
In Karshi , Agwada and Kokona, the stories are all the same as the venue shook and quaked from the pounding of the nearly uncontrollable mammoth crowd as supporters surged forward to catch a glimpse of the leaders of the party whom, from all indications, enjoyed tremendous goodwill and overwhelming support of the people.
In Uke area of Karu local government, the venue was filled to capacity with over 15,000 PDP women and business men of the Igbo extraction from Mararaba, who trooped out to welcome what they described as the winning party.
Stakeholders, and the who-is-who in the politics of the area were all in attendance from former political appointees to community leaders.
Salihu Mohammed, a vocal PDP stakeholder in Karu said that “the visit of Mr President” has assisted them in “shining their eyes”, saying that it also helped in no small measure in rekindling the hope of a return to the good old days and healed wounds of deceit of most members of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) in the state.
Mohammed, who spoke during the party’s Karu rally said that the event has not only tackled the doubts of those who felt betrayed, but equally gave them hope that their party is still alive and kicking – which strengthened their beliefs and showered them with a new lease of life that made them troop out in their numbers to every campaign venue of the party.
In kokona local area the people defied all pressures to return home despite having arrived the venue over two hours behind schedule, as they danced to cultural display by various cultural troupes that brought out the glamour of the occasion.
The member representing Kokona south, Danladi Jatau said that the area had never harboured ill-feeling or indulged in double-standard politicking but that they only hear of rival political parties on air and pages of newspapers.
The massive turn-out in the western senatorial district, which was without any rancour or chaos showed the maturity exhibited by the people of the zone and earned them more accolades as the deciding factor of the state’s politics.
The inputs of the speaker, Musa Ahmed Mohammed who is vying for Nasarawa- Toto house of representative constituency has helped in no small measure in neutralizing the efficacy of religious politics.
The triumphant moment at the Agwada rally of the PDP was the speech of Alhaji Yusuf Agabi, the party’s gubernatorial candidate who showered praises on the people of the area for their resolve to remain in the PDP despite threats from many quarters.
Agabi identified the loyalty of the people of the area as most commendable since the formation of the party in the state. He promised to ensure that the party not only returned to government house to retain the governorship seat but will also capture all other elective positions – ranging from local government to national offices during the 2015 general elections.
He also promised to tackle the frequent crisis in the state and ensure that Karu, the gateway to Abuja from the state, is given a face-lift to compliment Jonathan’s promise to upgrade the state into a new Abuja. He equally promised to complete the Mararaba -Gurku panda road to ease traffic and open up the axis.
Political analysts are of the view that with the growing awareness in the polity orchestrated by the PDP, people are beginning to review previous events and comparing notes. There is the growing consensus that political calculations made about PDP’s place in the state in 2015 are gradually turning into reality. The journey seems to have become new, as Jonathan’s statement most especially on former minister of information Labaran Maku has compelled a lot of people reverse their decisions and opted for issue-base politicking.
The state deputy governor, Comrade Damishi Luka Barau, who is the leader of the party in the state coordinated the visit of the president and continued with the journey to nook and corners of the state. Consequently, he has dashed the dreams of many people who believed that religion would be used as yardstick in the forthcoming general elections in the state.
Before the president’s visit there has been a lot of anxiety about whether the party could measure up to average, but to the surprise of many, the party has been working underground and had stamped its authority in mostly rural areas.
With most members of the state assembly and national assembly in PDP, the chances of the party remains brighter unless proven otherwise by the electorate.
People are of the belief that the current overwhelming support enjoyed by the PDP in the state has to do with the promise by Jonathan to develop the state into another Abuja if re- elected. Jonathan said that the federal government would work in ensuring that Nasarawa worked closely with it, to actualize the vision, while urging them to vote for PDP at both presidential and governorship elections, as well as other offices – for a smooth synergy in development.
The presidential campaign visit by Goodluck Jonathan and his team to Nasarawa state has no doubt exposed some political misnomer in the state and boosted his popularity within the PDP family , especially with disowning by various speakers, of Labaran Maku, who defected to All progressive grand alliance ( APGA ) after suffering defeat from Yusuf Agabi – who scored 214 votes to emerge winner; thereby securing PDP’s gubernatorial ticket.
No sooner has the president disowned Maku than the crowd responded in a loud voice “thank you our president” and various support groups started to dance in different styles in solidarity with the President’s courage for exposing the hidden threat maku poses to the party.
But that did not end there. Immediately the august visitor and his entourage departed, the state secretariat of the PDP along Jos Road in Lafia, began to witness a new dimension with people who had hitherto stood on the fence trooping into the secretariat in support of the president. It was as if the support base of the party was waiting to blossom after the president’s flagg-off of campaigns.
Another advantage enjoyed by the PDP is its control of the legislature with 20 of the 24 members and having two of the three senators: Suleiman Adokwe (Nasarawa- South), and Senator Solomon Ewuga (Nasarawa-North); while the APC has Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa-West) only.
Of the five House of Representatives seats, the PDP has four: Keana/Awe/Doma which Mohammed Onawo is representing; Dr. Joseph Haruna Kigbu’s Lafia/Obi; David Ombugadu’s Akwanga/ Nasarawa-Eggon/Wamba; and Ishaq Kana’s Keffi/Kokona/Karu.
The state Chairman of the party, chief Yunana Iliya who, incidentally doubles as chairman campaign council and a title holder in Karu, the Kuyanbanan Karu,summed up the motive behind the campaign rally. He said, “We organized the rally first, to show appreciation to our teaming members for standing with us despite our misfortunes in the 2011 general elections where our mandate was stolen and to seek for their support and votes in the forthcoming 2015 general elections”.
He assured the crowd that the party is better repositioned and vowed that it would regain its mandate in 2015. He appealed to the federal government to give Nasarawa state 13 percent derivation from the allocation of the FCT, to compliment developments in the state because of the people working in Abuja and yet residing in Nasarawa.
Iliya then said: “Certainly our lovers and bitterest critics and cynics cannot but admit that our state needs deliverance and as such needed the tolerance and support of our people to move forward and rescue the state from total collapse”.