2015: Deputy Governors That May Not Succeed Their Bosses Abu Nmodu, Achor Abimaje, Anayo Onukwugha, Bernard Tolani Dada and Emmanuel Ankeli, George Okojie, Joshua Dada, Kola Eke Ogiugo, Mike Ubani, Minna, MUH’D ZANGINA KURA, Tope Fayehun — Oct 4, 2014 | As the 2015 general elections approaches, it has emerged that some deputy governors to governors who are about to complete their second tenures may not succeed them due to various reasons. LEADERSHIP Weekend findings revealed that even some who are deputies to governors that are about to seek re-election may also be dropped as their governors are currently ‘shopping’ for their replacement. In Rivers state, ordinarily the deputy governor, Engr Tele Ikuru, is supposed to be the candidate to beat in the race to succeed his boss, Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, in the 2015 governorship election but no deputy governor has survived his boss in the history of Rivers State and the current vibes show that this time may not be different. Dr. Peter Odili was the only deputy governor of Rivers State who became a governor and that was almost seven years after the ousting of his former boss, Chief Rufus Ada George. Ikuru, who hails from Ikuru Town in Andoni local government area of the state, was picked by Amaechi as his running mate, shortly after he won the gubernatorial ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2006. Amaechi’s emergence was nullified by the leadership of the PDP, who in his stead, nominated his cousin, Sir Celestine Omehia as the party’s gubernatorial candidate. Omehia had retained Ikuru as his running mate and both were sworn in on May 29, 2007, after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the candidate of the PDP the winner of that election. However, when the Supreme Court removed Omehia on October 25, 2007, and replaced him with Amaechi, the governor refused every pressure mounted on him to dump Ikuru. So, he retained him as his deputy, a development that apparently increased the deputy governor’s loyalty to his boss. Although, he was not suspended by the leadership of the PDP along with Amaechi, Ikuru, out of his own volition, decided to join his boss in the All Progressives Congress (APC), in spite of the fact that his political mentor, Prince Uche Secondus is the national deputy chairman of PDP. Having served for almost eight years with Amaechi, those close to him say he strongly believes that contemplating succeeding the governor come 2015, would amount to betrayal. On several occasions, Ikuru publicly rebuked government officials who declared him the ‘next governor of Rivers State.’ Also, other sections of the Rivers South-East senatorial district, where Ikuru comes from believe that it is time the Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro axis of the senatorial district allows them to occupy the position of governor or deputy governor of the state. This is instructive going by the fact that an Opobo indigene, Sir Gabriel Toby, served as deputy governor to former Governor Peter Odili from 1999 to 2007, while Ikuru has been deputy governor of the state since 2007 and may quietly leave the political stage with Amaechi in 2015. In Ondo State, with the defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko who was elected on the platform of the Labour party (LP) to the PDP on Thursday, it has even become more glaring that his deputy, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, who does not have age on his side may succeed him. This is added to the fact that there are younger and more politically vibrant and loyal PDP members who are also eyeing the seat. Even the Northern Senatorial District where he comes from might find him a hard sale due to the fact that despite being a former state chairman of the PDP, he is not seen to be involved in the scheme of things in the state. People in the state have described his silence as ‘self-redundancy’ which is compounded by his old age. The views of some in the state that Olanusi is not in control, even in his zone, manifested during the last gubernatorial election in the state when he lost his local government to the PDP. The political calculation in Osun State also does not favour the incumbent deputy governor, Otunba Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori to succeed her boss, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as governor of the state. Mrs Laoye-Tomori who hails from Osogbo town in Osun Central Senatorial District may not be favoured because her Senatorial District has been in the saddle of governance more than any other district in the state. Recall that virtually all the prominent political parties in the August 9, 2014 governorship election in the state picked their flag bearers from either Osun East or West Senatorial District, having realised that they had been denied the opportunity to rule the state. By virtue of the victory of Governor Aregbesola for another term in office, stakeholders say it is the turn of Osun West to be the governor if the rotational structure would be maintained. Also, in Lagos State, the present deputy governor, Princess Adejoke Orelope Adefulire, may not be able to succeed her boss, Governor Babatunde Fashola. They were both elected on the platform of the APC. This is because there is apparent inclination of the mainstream political leadership of the state to project what is being termed a male-male gubernatorial ticket which automatically precludes the present deputy governor from vying for the plum job. Though the state is known to be very considerate in the distribution of political offices, the present projection of a man for the office of the deputy governor of the state has made it impossible for incumbent Adefulire to indicate interest to offer herself for service as the governor of the state. Political permutation in the state is that political gladiators have already settled for Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode as the next governor of the state. Again, in Lagos politics, once the ‘political oracle’ has spoken on the way the candidates will emerge nobody alters it. Things are also not any different in Ogun State where the relationship between the governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and his deputy, Prince Segun Adesegun, is said to have broken irretrievably, following a rift between them over who controls the APC on which platform they were elected, in the state. The governor who is seeking re-election is said to have made up his mind not to continue with Adesegun as his running mate. If that happens, political watchers believe it would be difficult for the deputy to move up the ladder of political ascendancy. However, with or without the governor, there are feelers that Adesegun could be fielded by the ‘Matagbamole Group’, a faction of the APC in the state loyal to the former governor, Aremo Segun Osoba, for governor in 2015. It is inconceivable that the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Rev. Ralph Ifeanyichukwu Nwoye, would succeed Governor Sullivan Chime, when the tenure of the latter expires on May 29, 2015. The reason is obvious. First, the Enugu state chapter of the ruling PDP had earlier zoned the gubernatorial slot to Enugu North Senatorial District. Rev. Nwoye hails from Enugu East Senatorial District. In fact, last week, Governor Chime announced after a meeting of PDP stakeholders in the state at Government House, Enugu, that Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who currently represents Udenu/Igboeze North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, has been endorsed as the party’s consensus gubernatorial candidate in the forthcoming 2015 general elections. In Niger State the deputy governor, Mr. Ahmed Musa Ibeto, has made his intention to contest the 2015 governorship election known because by the state PDP’s zoning arrangement, Niger North Senatorial District where he is from, is to produce the next governor. The governor, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu, also disclosed last week that three persons were eyeing the governorship seat from his cabinet, including the current deputy governor. Aliyu has always said he would prefer that someone within his cabinet succeeds him but he seems not to give his deputy any special consideration from his body language and has recently been said to be showing support for his chief of staff, Alhaji Umar Nasko. Initially it was speculated that the governor preferred the commissioner of works, Alhaji Mohammed Muazu Bawa to the deputy governor until last week when Nasko’s name came up as the anointed one. Some politicians in the state claim that the governor’s decision not to support Ibeto was due to allegations that Ibeto does not belong to the progressives within the party and could not be trusted to take over from him. Other politicians believe that Ibeto is popular within the PDP and among core politicians in the party but members of the governor’s kitchen cabinet are of the view that governor Aliyu is not comfortable with him despite his show of loyalty over the years. In Benue state, it is not certain whether the state deputy governor, Chief Steven Lawani will succeed governor Gabriel Suswam come 2015 although he has declared his intention to run and has since begun consultations with stakeholders on the matter. Lawani hails from Ogbadibo local government area of the state, in Zone C Senatorial District. However, some of the reasons why it may be difficult for Lawani to succeed Suswam are that he is of the Idoma ethnic group who have never produced the governor of the state. It is not clear if he will break the jinx. It is also argued that he is not favoured by the zoning arrangement because it is now the turn of Zone B Senatorial District, and MINDA group, consisting Makurdi, Guma, Gwer East and Gwer West local governments. By every measurable standard, Lawani is a big fish in the political scene but his age is another factor to ponder. He is aged and can be perceived to have more political wisdom than the younger aspirants from the other senatorial zones that are also running for the race. Political pundits have however posited that governor Suswam would not hand over the seat to his deputy owing to the fact that he (Suswam) would prefer a younger politician who would be loyal to him and not easily manipulated. A similar situation may play out in In Katsina state where Abdullahi Garba Faskari is the deputy governor. As of now, it cannot be said with certainty if his boss, Governor Ibrahim Shema, who is serving his second and final term, will hand over the mantle of leadership to him by 2015. Indeed, it is increasingly becoming too difficult to predict because of the body language and in some instances, utterances of Shema, who only recently, declared that he has no anointed candidate. Although the deputy governor like most persons whose names have been associated with the plan to succeed governor Shema has not declared his intention, analysts posit that Faskari may not be given the PDP’s guber ticket because of the precedence which has been set, a precedence which ensures that the state governor usually comes from the Katsina central senatorial district. In Delta State, since the rumoured endorsement of retired civil servant, Mr. Tony Obuh by the Ibori/Uduaghan political coalition, the atmosphere across Delta state has become charged, with political stakeholders rueing what they described as ‘super imposition’. Those close to the corridors of power hinted that although Obuh has been reportedly endorsed, pressures have been mounted on the present deputy governor, Prof. Amos Aigbe Utuama (SAN), to run for the governorship position come 2015. Although, Gov. Emmanuel Uduaghan has severally said that the 2015 governorship election would be a level playing field, pointers show that he may not settle for his deputy. But the Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU) through one of its leaders, Chief Ighoyota Amori, has vowed that the Urhobos would resist imposition or super-imposition, insisting that contesting the governorship election is the right of all eligible Delta indigenes and should not be based on ethnicity. The Jigawa state deputy governor Alhaji Ahmad Mahmud is one of the deputy governors in the country that also has a slim chance of succeeding his boss. Even though Mahmud is a seasoned grassroots politician, he has never indicated interest to contest the governorship position despite the wide spread agitation and calls by his supporters to join the race. He is also the longest serving deputy governor in the history of the state and that may make him to step aside alongside his governor. Historically also, no deputy governor has succeeded his boss in the history of the state. In Plateau State, Governor Jonah Jang has said it that once his tenure expires in 2015, he is leaving the stage with his deputy, Ambassador Ignatius Longjan due to old age, so that a younger person can take over from them. However, there are speculations that governor Jang’s successor may emerge from among his kinsmen, the Berom ethnic stock, a move that might be rejected by the people of the state, according to political analysts. LEADERSHIP Weekend checks revealed that the national headquarters of the PDP will not support another Berom candidate in view of the fact that governor Jang has spent his eight years in office hence the need to have somebody outside the Berom ethnic stock to succeed him. It was also gathered that the governor is mindful of the uproar the announcement of his anointed candidate would generate and so for now, is keeping his choice close to his heart. In the case of Akwa Ibom State, as the end of Governor Godswill Akpabio’s administration draws near, the current deputy governor, Lady Valerie Ebe and the first female deputy governor who took over from Mr Nsima Ekere has not shown any intentions of succeeding her boss. Some political actors in the state close to her, say this is on account of her age. Though she is from Mkpat Enin Local government area in Eket Senatorial District which is highly favoured by governor Akpabio and other elders of the ruling party to produce the next governor, it is believed that with the growing list of aspirants from the senatorial district and the support the state governor has given to Udom Emmanuel the current secretary to the state government also in the race, it might be very difficult for Ekere to make it. Though the incumbent governor of Sokoto State, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko succeeded his former boss, Attahiru Bafarawa, it is not clear if the same scenario would play out as the governor and his deputy, Mukhtar Shagari, belong to two different political parties, the APC and PDP, respectively. The duo enjoyed seven years of robust relationship as governor and deputy until recently when Wamakko decamped from the PDP to the APC but his deputy preferred to remain in the PDP. Now, with another election by the corner, the stage is set for the duo to test their political might but Shagari would have many hurdles to cross if at all he can match the governor’s anointed candidate. Speaking on the number of battles before Shagari, a member of the PDP who preferred anonymity, said until the deputy governor drops his elitist mentality about politics and begins to look at it as he ought to, he might find it difficult to succeed Wamakko come 2015. Nigerian News from Leadership Newspapers.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 21:47:48 +0000
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