Kaduna: The Struggle for Sir Kashim Ibrahim House Sir Kashim Ibrahim house is the alias name for the Kaduna State Government House. Located in the heart of the city, the Kaduna state seat of power will be the cynosure of all eyes within Arewa and indeed across Nigeria as we inch closer to the 2015 general elections. This is as a result of the towering status of Kaduna as the political headquarters of northern Nigeria. As the two main political parties in the land – the PDP and APC, file out armed with their promises and manifestos in a ferocious quest to secure the mandate of the electorates, the Kaduna State chapter of the parties are not leaving anything to chance as both the politicians and their supporters have since gone to town in a desperate move to woo voters. The state stands on a tripod geopolitical voting strength pattern with the main districts being Kafanchan in Kaduna South, Kaduna city in central Kaduna and Zaria in Kaduna north. These towns will witness the bulk of the campaigning and political manoeuvrings owing to their geopolitical significance and population size. The one major factor of religion which has a tendency to trigger violence has been rested as the both candidates are not only muslims but of the same Zaria extraction. This is a pointer to the fact that head or tail after the election the state will be peaceful. Kaduna state has a voters strength of 3,689,340 voters spread across its 23 LGAs and 255 wards. In 2011, about 2,516,441 votes were recorded in an election that saw the PDP securing the highest vote of 1,334,319 to defeat its closest rival, the CPC which scored 1,133,564 votes. With the recent merger of four political parties to form APC, the competition is now stiffer for the PDP in the state than it was in 2011. The APC in the coming election is fielding Mal Nasir El’rufai, a seasoned public servant whose sterling performance in the FCT and BPP stands him out. He goes into the election as a force not purely based on his past achievements but as a candidate of the APC- a party which has a huge grass root following in the state. While the PDP on the other hand presents the incumbent governor Alh Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, he has the advantage of incumbency and federal might, his support base lies mainly among the PDP elites who have a huge financial war chest to attract voters. Owing to the fact that the both candidates are hausa-muslims, the scramble for votes will be fierce in the muslim dominated northern and central senatorial zones, giving southern Kaduna the proverbial outlook of the “beautiful bride” that must be courted in order to secure victory in the election. The February 28th governorship election in Kaduna promises to be interesting. Nobody can convincingly predict which direction the pendulum of victory will swing. The eligible inhabitants will troop out en-mass to exercise their franchise with anxiety, hoping their preferred candidate emerges victorious. The onus is therefore on the INEC and security agencies to ensure security and guarantee the integrity of the election process while the politicians in the same vane are enjoined to eschew violence and accept whatever outcome the election produces.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 12:57:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015