Titanic battles on the political landscape

 

The outgoing year was full of political upsets with many major actors eased out of the stage, just as it was a turnaround year for many others previously considered underdogs. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE examines the major occurrences in the political circle which made the year memorable.

 

Saraki vs Oloriegbe

The year 2019 is most significant as an election year during which President Muhammadu Buhari won a second term in office. Although, many parties participated in the 2019 general elections, it was mainly a two-horse race between the two most dominant political parties, namely the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The outcome of the election has its effects in many states. In Kwara State, for instance, the contest between former Senate President Bukola Saraki and Ibrahim Oloriegbe of the APC for the Kwara Central Senatorial District was a major episode. Saraki, who contested the election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was defeated in a landslide victory by the APC candidate.

It did not come as a surprise to many political observers because the O to ge campaign mantra had an overwhelming impact on the Saraki political dynasty.

Saraki defected from the APC when he had issues with the leadership of the party. Oloriegbe was a member of the House of Representatives in 1999 under the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and was given the needed support by the grassroots people who appeared to have grown tired Saraki dynasty’s domination of the political space.  The defeat of Saraki in the election was not without some ripple effects as his associates also lost out in many of the elections they contested during the year.

 

Akpabio vs Ekpeyong

Godwill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom and currently the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, was the APC candidate in the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District. He contested against Christopher Ekpeyong who defeated him in the February 23, 2019 election. The defeat came as a surprise to many because it was widely believed that Akpabio wielded a lot influence in Akwa Ibom State.

Many also believe that his defeat in the election was caused by his defection to the APC, given the strength of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the south-South region.

Many also viewed the contest as a battle between him and Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, which the latter delivered to the PDP candidate. Akpabio filed an appeal against his defeat and the court ordered a rerun in some disputed areas in Essien Udim Local Government Area within 90 days. It was going to be another test of strength between Akpabio and Emmanuel before the former opted out.

 

Ajimobi vs Balogun

Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the immediate past governor of Oyo State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Oyo South Senatorial District election, lost out to senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Kola Balogun.

Although Ajimobi went to court over the defeat, he challenged the winner in court for allegedly lacking the prerequisite qualification. Balogun’s alleged lack of required academic qualification had been an issue even within the PDP during its primaries.

Ajimobi was stopped at the Court of Appeal because the court said it was a PDP affair. Justice Haruna Tsammani struck out the case. Many people, however, attributed Ajimobi’s defeat to his style of administration, which they said alienated him from the people, who also saw the contest as an opportunity to ease him out of the political space.

 

Bindow vs Fintiri

The recent governorship election in Adamawa State where the APC candidate and former governor of the state Jibrilla Bindow lost to the PDP candidate Umaru Fintiri was quite dramatic. Adamawa is the home state of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Atiku, who also contested the 2019 presidential election against President Muhammadu Buhari, was believed to have been instrumental to the outcome of the Adamawa polls.

Although Bindow initially congratulated Fintiri after the election’s results were announced, his party headed to the court to challenge Fintiri’s victory. The Adamawa APC camp was in confusion as Bindow’s counsels antagonised one another. This affected the outcome of the case against the victory of Fintiri.

The result of the election indicated a narrow victory for Fintiri who scored 376,552 votes against Bindow’s 336,386.

 

Atunwa vs Abdulrazaq

In Kwara State, the incumbent governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of the APC, defeated the PDP candidate Razak Atunwa. The O to ge movement was believed to have helped to turn the table against Atunwa, who had the backing of the then Senate President Bukola Saraki and the then governor Abdulfatai Ahmed.

The defeat of Atunwa was due mainly to the fact that Kwara people wanted a new leadership direction. The O to ge movement was largely meant to stop the former Senate President and his surrogates. The Kwara State APC under the leadership of the Minister of Information Lai Mohammed, reached out to the grassroots people, many of who believed that Saraki had nothing more to offer them.

In the end, the governorship race ended in favour of the APC with a wide margin. The failure of the PDP and Saraki to fly in the election later affected the fortune of the former Senate President in the state.

 

Kwankwaso vs Shekarau

Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso contested the Kano Central Senatorial district by proxy. His anointed candidate, Aliyu Gini, who contested the senatorial election on the platform of the PDP, locked horns with APC candidate Ibrahim Shekarau.

The rivalry between the two politicians has been legendary, so nobody was taken unaware the way the election for the Kano Central seat started and ended. Kwankwaso and Shekarau had tested their strength in major elections in 2003, 2007 and 2011 without either of them declared the superman.

In the most recent one in which Kwankwaso fought a proxy war, his anointed candidate was defeated in the election. Kwanwanso, a former APC leader, had defected to the PDP while Shekarau moved from PDP to APC.

 

Shehu Sani vs Uba Sani

Uba Sani, a former adviser to Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, won the Kaduna Central senatorial seat in the recent general elections. He defeated the PDP candidate, Adamu Lawal, as well as Shehu Sani of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).

Shehu Sani was the one occupying the seat, having won it in 2015 on the APC platform. But he had to defect from APC to PRP on account of his quarrel with Governor el-Rufai.

Uba Sani was believed to have defeated Shehu Sani mainly on the influence of Governor. El-Rufai had vowed to ensure that the human right senator was defeated in the Kaduna Central senatorial election. This came to pass as the PRP candidate came third in the election.

 

Dankwambo vs Alkali

Former Gombe State governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo’s ambition to represent his people at the Senate was cut short by his defeat in the 2019 senatorial election. He was defeated by the APC candidate, Sa’idu Alkali.

Dankwambo had contested the PDP presidential primary but lost to Atiku. The APC candidate, who was seen largely as the underdog, pulled a big surprise by humbling Dankwambo who had spent eight years as Gombe State governor.

The defeat of the former Gombe State governor made nonsense of the belief that only big time politicians can break even in electoral contests.

Alkali polled 152,000 votes against Dankwambo’s 88,016.

 

Adeyeye vs Olujimi

Senator Dayo Adeyeye’s victory at the 2019 election was reversed by the Court of Appeal in favour of the PDP candidate, Senator Biodun Olujimi.

Adeyeye, who contested the election on the platform of APC, had been declared the winner of the Ekiti South Senatorial District’s election. His election was also upheld by the election petition tribunal only for the judgment to be upturned by the Appeal Court.

Olujimi belongs to the Saraki political camp and had been a die-hard follower of the late Second Republic Senate Leader, Olusola Saraki.

 

Muktar vs Matawalle

The Supreme Court’s sack of all APC candidates last year’s general elections in Zamfara State opened the door for many PDP candidates, including Governor Bello Matawalle, to emerge as winners.

The APC governorship candidate, Muktar Idris, had been declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner with 534,541 votes against Matawalle’s 189,452. However, issues surrounding the APC primary turned round to haunt the party.

The Supreme Court ruled that APC did not hold a proper primary and nullified the election of all its candidates. Following the unanimous judgment of a five man panel led by Justice Tanko Mohammad, the apex court declared that the next party with the highest number of votes cast in each of the positions contested during the election should be declared the winner.

 

Melaye vs Adeyemi

The Kogi West Senatorial District was a hot contest between Senator Dino Melaye of the PDP and Senator Smart Adeyemi of the APC.

Although Melaye was declared by INEC as the winner of the election, Adeyemi contested his victory at the tribunal. In the end, the courts ruled that the electoral umpire should conduct another election.

In the rerun election which took place in November, Adeyemi defeated Melaye with 88,373 votes against the latter’s 61,131.

Melaye, a staunch supporter of Dr. Bukola Saraki, had defected with the former Senate President from APC to PDP.

 

Ohuabunwa vs Orji-Kalu

The senatorial election of Abia North Senatorial District was won by Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu, who defeated the PDP candidate, Mao Ohuabunwa.

However, Ohuabunwa went to the election petition tribunal in Umuahia, where Kalu’s victory was nullified. But Kalu regained victory when the Appeal Court reaffirmed his success at the poll.

Kalu is presently serving 12 years imprisonment after he was found guilty on all the 39 count charges brought against him by the anti-graft agency, EFCC.

 

Okorocha vs Onyereri

Former Imo State governor Rochas Okorocha won the Imo West Senatorial seat in the February elections, defeating his closest rival and PDP candidate, Jones Onyereri.

Okorocha who contested the election on the platform of APC, polled 97,762 while Onyereri got 68,117 votes.

The election became shrouded in controversy when the returning officer, Francis Ibeawuchi, declared that he announced Okorocha as winner under duress.

When the names of senators elected from Imo State were published by INEC, however, that of Okorocha was conspicuously missing. Okorocha was later suspended by the APC for anti party activities.

 

Ihedioha vs Uzodinma

The contest for the Imo State governorship seat was a major challenge for the APC in the state. Okorocha had wanted his son-in-law Uche Nwosu as the APC candidate in the election, but it was Uzodinma who picked the party’s ticket.

In protest, Nwosu defected to the Action Alliance (AA) party and became its flag bear for the governorship election in March.

The internal wrangling in the APC camp ended up seeing the party lose the election to the PDP candidate Ihedioha, who scored 273,404 votes, while Nwosu and Uzodinma polled 190,000 and 96,458 votes respectively..

 

Lyon vs Diri

The Bayelsa State governorship election conducted last month provoked lots of interest and surprises. It was won by the APC candidate, David Lyon, after defeating the PDP candidate Duoye Diri and the candidates of other parties.

Bayelsa State is widely regarded as a stronghold of the PDP, hence Lyon was believed to be contesting the election against a formidable opponent.

It was an election which also caught the attention of former President Goodluck Jonathan and other notable politicians in the South-south region.

But as the election turned out, the APC won in a landslide victory, against Governor Seriake Dickson-backed candidate of the PDP.

The PDP is still licking its wounds and has gone to the elections petition tribunal to seek redress on the outcome of the poll.

 

Akinlade vs Abiodun

The governorship election in Ogun State was fought and won on the basis of party supremacy. The APC proved that it was well established in the state by claiming victory in the end.

The APC candidate, Dapo Abiodun, defeated the incumbent governor, Senator Ibikunle-Amosun-backed candidate of Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Adekunle Akinlade, who had defected from the APC.

The APC had viewed Amosun’s backing of Akinlade, the APM candidate in the election, as an anti- party activity and promptly suspended the then governor from the party.

Amosun was recently pardoned by APC while his candidate in the election has also returned to the APC fold.

The Supreme Court had affirmed Abiodun as the winner of the election after the APM challenged his victory at the election petitions tribunal.

 

Opeyemi vs Adewale

The senatorial election for Ekiti Central Senatorial District was won by Opeyemi Bamidele after defeating the PDP candidate, Obafemi Adewale. Opeyemi polled 94,279 while Adewale polled 46,707 during the National Assembly elections.

Opeyemi was the Director-General of Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation when he was shot by thugs at a campaign rally in Ekiti State. The APC stood by him through the struggle and he is presently in the Senate.