The 2019 general elections might have come and gone, but the ‘sweet and sour’ tastes it left on both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the leading opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cannot be forgotten in a hurry. Both parties recorded gains and losses. Daily Trust Saturday examines how the APC lost Bauchi, Adamawa, Benue, Imo, Sokoto and Oyo states to the PDP, while the ruling party dislodged the opposition party in Gombe and Kwara states.
The victory of incumbent Governor Samuel Ortom did not come until after the conduct of a supplementary poll held on March 23.
From the onset, it was obvious that the 2019 governorship race would not be an easy ride after Governor Ortom raised an alarm that he had been shown the way out of the APC. He thereafter announced his defection to his former party – the PDP.
Soon after the defection, eight members of the State House of Assembly, led by ousted Speaker Terkimbi Ikyange, threatened the governor with a notice of impeachment. That was yet another saga which further triggered series of political frosty relationship between Ortom, the APC, and the leader of APC in the state, George Akume, alleged to have masterminded the crisis.
The governor, who received a warm welcome back to the PDP where he belonged until the 2015 election, had the backing of former Senate President David Mark, ex-governor Gabriel Suswam, ex-minister Abba Moro, ex-Senate President Iyorchia Ayu, as well as the Sir John Ngbede-led PDP executive in the state.
A political analyst, Jacob Ayati, said Benue had always been a PDP state until it was swept by the President Muhammadu Buhari factor in 2015, adding that, when Ortom took the decision of returning to his original party as a result of the continued herdsmen invasion of Benue State, the people welcomed him with open hands.
Tambuwal’s PDP returns Sokoto to opposition politics
Since 1999, Sokoto State has always been under the control of opposition political parties until 2015 when it was taken by the ruling party. The state, however, returned to its opposition status when Governor Tambuwal defected to the PDP to pursue his presidential ambition on August 1, 2018.
The governor stamped this position following his victory at a keenly contested poll after the subsequent supplementary election on March 23, polling 512,002 votes against APC’s 511,660 votes with a difference of just 342 votes.
In the March 9, 2019 governorship poll, PDP had 489,558 votes, while APC scored 486,145 votes, leaving a margin of 3,414 which was far below the 75,403 cancelled votes from across 135 polling units in 22 local government areas.
Pundits say a fierce rivalry may persist, if not well managed, since the APC won 16 out of 30 seats in the State House of Assembly, leaving the PDP with 14 seats.
PDP’s Ihedioha benefitted from APC’s infighting
On March 12, the INEC announced a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, and PDP’s governorship candidate Emeka Ihedioha, as the winner of the March 9 governorship election in Imo State.
Ihedioha, with a strong support from his Mbaise home base, polled a total 273,404 votes to defeat his closest contender, Ugwumba Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance (AA), who got 190,364 votes.
For Ihedioha, the victory did not come easy, having tried his hands at the governorship of Imo state in 2011 and 2015 respectively. However, his victory was made easier by the internal wrangling in the ruling APC, which failed to produce a common governorship candidate for the election. Hope Uzodinma, who finally made the list, could not salvage the fortunes of the party in the state as he came a distant fourth in the overall ranking.
APC reclaims mandate from PDP in Kwara
Kwara has always been in the ruling party until 2013 when the political leader of the state, Dr Bukola Saraki, led other governors to the opposition APC and won the election that ended the 16 years rule of the PDP at the federal level.
Kwara, which has been an APC state since 2013, suddenly left for the PDP in the middle of 2018 when Saraki led his followers, including Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed, to return to the former ruling party with explanation that his political aspiration for his people was not realised under the APC-led federal government.
Analysts say the belief that Kwara State will remain with Saraki changed because of the yearnings of people who craved for a change of the status quo.
They noted that the state witnessed serious protest votes from people who wanted to test new waters and see if truly the state doesn’t have enough resources to cater for her citizens.
Ajimobi’s actions handed Oyo to PDP
The March 9 governorship election in Oyo State was a watershed in the history of the state. The governor-elect, Mr. Seyi Makinde, overwhelmingly won the election with 157,639 votes margin.
Makinde won 28 out of the 33 local governments in the state, leaving the APC with only five.
His landmark victory was not unconnected with the Olubadan Chieftaincy Review conundrum embarked upon by the outgoing governor, alliance of the PDP candidate with two other major political parties in the state, the inability of Ajimobi to pay salaries and pensions arrears of workers regularly, payment of N1,000 school fees by primary and secondary schools students in the state and levies imposed on religious organizations, which the outgoing administration considered to be a source of revenue for the state government and many more.
How APC cut short PDP’s 16-year reign in Gombe
The PDP had been in power in Gombe State since 2003 when former Governor Muhammad Danjuma Goje dislodged late Abubakar Habu Hashidu of the defunct ANPP, until its recent downfall at the just concluded 2019 general elections.
The APC candidate, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, defeated Usman Bayero Nafada of the PDP to emerge as the governor-elect.
Dr Babayo Sule, a lecturer with the Department of Political Science at the Federal University Kashere, said the PDP lost Gombe due to myriad of political factors which involved the politicking and power interplay from major actors and stakeholders in the party.
How PDP snatched Bauchi from APC
The defeat suffered by the APC in Bauchi State did not come as a surprise, considering a combination of factors that worked against the party after its success at the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Prominent politicians in the state, who were unhappy over the alleged failure of the Governor Mohammed Abubakar-led APC administration, were said to have helped the PDP candidate, Senator Bala Mohammed, to defeat the incumbent governor.
The Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Senators Sulaiman Nazif, Isah Hamma Misau and the two members of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Yarima (Misau/Dambam) and Salisu Zakari Ningi (Ningi/Warji) defected to the PDP because of their unending feud with Governor Abubakar.
PDP rode on infighting in Adamawa APC
The PDP was revived in Adamawa State with the nomination of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Ahmadu Fintri as its presidential and governorship candidates respectively.
Though it is believed that Atiku has huge financial war chest and a longtime political structure, while Fintri pulls the crowd among workers and minority ethnic groups, pundits believe that the PDP cashed in on the internal division within the ruling APC to neutralize the incumbency factor enjoyed by Governor Jibrilla Bindow.
Bindow was supported by former governor Murtala Nyako to defeat Atiku’s candidate – Ibrahim Mijimyawa, at the APC governorship primary election twice but as soon as he won the 2015 general election, his loyalty shifted to Atiku. The Nyako camp felt betrayed.
The governor subsequently fell out with the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawan, and several other stakeholders including Senator Abubakar Halilu Gire, Senator Bello Tukur, Retired General Buba Marwa and Musa Kamale. His relationship with the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, also allegedly degenerated.
Daily Trust
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