As the people of Kogi State go to the poll to elect a new governor today, Inner room examines the strong points as well as the weaknesses the two leading candidates, Governor Idris Wada of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Alhaji Abubakar Audu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), would have to contend with in the race for the coveted seat.
IDRIS WADA
Power of incumbency
Wada’s major advantage no doubt lies in the fact that he is a sitting governor. He exhibited his ability to appropriate the power of incumbency during the build-up to his party primary, when the ‘powers-that-be’ in Abuja had purportedly made up their minds to deny him the PDP ticket and foreclose his bid for re-election. Wada, whose resolve had apparently been underrated, did not only pull the rug from under the feet of the ‘Abuja men’, which some analysts of political events in Kogi listed as including the then just defeated President Goodluck Jonathan. Wada so much doused the enthusiasm of his then challenger, Alhaji Jibril Isah aka Echocho, that the latter defected to the APC.
Aside the foregoing, Wada as a sitting governor has been able to deploy his appointed senior special assistants 1, 2 and 3 in the 21 local government areas of the state to have a foothold at the grassroots, haven declined to appeal the judgement of the High Court in Koton-Karfe, which nullified the election of the elected council chairmen across the state. Wada’s grip at the local government level was also evident in the turnouts at PDP campaign rallies throughout the period it lasted.
Personal disposition
Governor Wada is touted to be very humble and unassuming; a trait his supporters have continued to harp on as reason the electorate should return him to office. Unlike what obtained in the state before his ascension in 2011, his disaffection for thuggery has also been touted as the reason for the near eradication of brazen acts of political conflagration in the state in close to four years.
Performance
But Wada’s bid for a second term is being threatened by his alleged non-performance, which the opposition and those against him say does not commend him for re-election. Wada and his supporters however insist that the contrary has been the case, and that despite the meagre resources available to the state, the governor has proved to be a good manager of men and resources under whose watch a lot has been achieved in such areas as infrastructure, agriculture and other socio-economic spheres.
Part payment of salaries
The Wada administration is dogged with loads of unpaid salaries, particularly at the local government level where teachers and council workers are forced to accept part payment of their salaries,
leading to the popular sobriquet ‘Half Salary’, which many now call his administration.
Defections
Reminiscent of what happened during the build-up to the presidential election, numerous PDP chieftains in Kogi have dumped the party to pitch their tents with the opposition APC..During the grand finale of APC’s campaign on Wednesday for example, no fewer than 15 PDP bigwigs, including former senior special assistants, special assistants and other party top notch were officially received into the APC. Before then, there had been a gale of defections from PDP to APC at almost all the campaign rallies hosted by the latter. It is noteworthy that not a single member of the APC is so far reported to have gone to the PDP in the state.
APC change mantra/PDP’s dwindling fortunes
The APC change mantra has been working like a magic in the last North Central state remaining for the PDP as was witnessed during the last general election. This coupled with the general disaffection of Nigerians with the PDP in the last 16 years has trickled down to Kogi and might work against the party on Election Day.
Non-reinstatement of sacked LG bosses
Governor Wada’s refusal to reinstate the 21 sacked council chairmen in the state as ordered by an Abuja High Court is another issue that could negatively affect his chances at the poll. Their non-reinstatement no doubt led to the dumping of the party by 12 of the affected chairmen.
PRINCE ABUBAKAR AUDU
Performance in office
Audu was governor of Kogi State during the short-lived former military president Ibrahim
Babangida political experimentation. He however spent his first full term in office when he was elected governor in 1999, and throughout the period, he set the pace in the state’s development.
Audu’s performance as governor has been acknowledged even by his detractors.
Among other landmarks, Audu established the Kogi State University, Anyagba, the Government House Lokoja, the Confluence Stadium, Commissioners’ Quarters, Kogi State Polytechin, the Confluence
Hotel, House of Assembly Quarters, the Legislative Quarters and others too numerous to mention.
Grassroots politician
Audu has been on the scene for as long as the creation of the state, and if there is anyone that can be described as the face of Kogi, it is Prince Abubakar Audu. His popularity rating across the state is not in doubt. What remains however is how well the APC can translate this into victory on D-Day.
Audu is well loved by a cross-section of the people of the state. Aside using his well of resources to personally touch the lives of many, the enigmatic politician is continually besieged by his people in search of one favour or the other.
The APC momentum
The momentum of the APC is so much that it will require near docility for it to lose election anywhere in the country at the moment. The party’s progressive agenda has continued to resonate among Nigerians, and even outsiders are in agreement that the party is what Africa’s most populated country requires at the moment.
Influx of PDP chieftains to the APC
Long before the commencement of the Kogi governorship race, the APC has become somewhat a huge receptacle for disaffected PDP chieftains and members alike, who seem to have found a common ground with the APC as a party. Going by this, it will be surprising if the party does not emerge winner of the election.
Alleged friction with workers
Audu’s detractors allege that his administration was not worker-friendly, saying that workers under him did not enjoy the best of times. His camp has however debunked this as the handiwork of detractors who employed propaganda as a campaign tool against his second coming.
Alleged overbearing presence
Audu’s critics are wont to accuse him of looking down on his aides and not according them the kind of self esteem they deserve. They also accuse him of being overbearing.
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