 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
A Union of Strangers
|
|---|
 |
Governor Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State, Nigeria |
Penultimate Friday, July 7 2006, Governor Saminu Ibrahim Turaki of Jigawa made “history” as the first sitting chief executive of a state in Nigeria to abandon his party for another, when he formally dumped his All Nigeria People's Party ANPP to join the People Democratic Party (PDP). From the realm of speculations, initials denials and then reality, the circumstances that brought about the decamping of Turaki, who for the past seven years have held sway in Jigawa State on the platform of the ANPP is, indeed, a study in complex politicking. First elected in 1999, when he against all predictions defeated Alhaji Sule Lamido, Governor Turaki was to be elected in 2003, for a second term in office. Speaking at a rally in Dutse, the state capital, to formally receive Turaki into the PDP fold, its National Chairman, Senator Ahmadu Ali described the development as a homecoming for Turaki. According to him, Governor Turaki, going by the nature of his governmental policies and programmes has been a member of the PDP as his policies in the PDP national chairman's estimation, are in tune with the PDP manifesto. Ali described the event of the day – the formal reception of Turaki and his government officials into the PDP– as a mere formality, expressing the optimism that his joining the party would take it to greater heights not only in Jigawa state, but the entire country.
Speaking in the same vein, Alhaji Lamido, former Foreign Affairs Minister observed that Governor Turaki all along has been a member of the PDP, even though he has been wearing ANPP clothes. According to Lamido who is seen as the ‘soul' of the PDP in Jigawa, the decision by Turaki to join the PDP is like one returning to his father's house after wandering outside adding that his criticism of Governor Turaki's government is not out of personal differences, but for the sake of the people of Jigawa state.
In his speech, Governor Turaki, who obviously did not betray any excitement throughout the period of the occasion, thanked Allah and all present for making the decamping a reality. He however, expressed the optimism that his joining the PDP would add to the party's value in Jigawa state as well as take it to greater height. Although Governor Turaki decamping finally materialised formally penultimate week, The Source's findings revealed that it passed through a long and most times controversial process beginning from late last year.
According to authoritative sources close to the PDP, Governor Turaki has sometime late last year approached Senator Ali, the PDP national chairman seeking to register as a member of the party. But Ali, reportedly told Turaki that he as the chairman would not grant him membership of the party just like that since he (Turaki) is not just an ordinary person. He was said to have advised Turaki to make his intention known to President Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as other major players in the party.
Based on the advice, Governor Turaki was said to have approached President Obasanjo, who reportedly told him that as far as Jigawa PDP is concerned he only knows Lamido, and as such counseled Turaki to first meet with Lamido and sort out the issue with him.
The Source gathered that Obasanjo's position was informed by his knowledge of the cat-and-rat relationship that then existed between Lamido and Turaki, due mainly to the belief of the former that the latter has not been fair to Jigawa state and its people going by the way he managed the affairs and resources of the state. In fact, their disagreements climaxed when the former Foreign Affairs Minister formed a coalition of opposition parties in the state to question what they termed as the monumental mismanagement of the state's resources by the Turaki's administration, especially the state's local council funds. As part of its agitation against the alleged misrule of Jigawa State and mismanagement of its resources, the Lamido-led opposition at a point in time, apparently owing to the provisions of section 308 of the 1999 constitution that grants certain public office holders including governors immunity from prosecution while still in office, dragged Governor Turaki to the state's Sharia Court to account for an alleged mismanagement of over N30 billion which accrued to the state's 27 local councils from the Federation Account between 2000 and 2004. Although nothing meaningful came out of the suit and several others in terms of judicial indictment of Turaki, they and a series of protest marches organised by the coalition created an image problem for the Turaki regime, which it is still battling to clear till date. The opposition from the coalition also further widened the political gulf between Lamido and Turaki, so much that it looked at a point that they may never reconcile. However, despite this, Governor Turaki reportedly went to Lamido at his Abuja residence, in line with the presidential directive, to iron out the issue of his proposed decamping to the PDP. Although not really disposed to the development, the twosome upon reporting back to Obasanjo said to have been directed to ensure they fully reconciled themselves and work towards the decamping.
At this point, Lamido and Governor Turaki returned to Jigawa to consult with their people concerning the development. This, The Source gathered, resulted in both camps raising a committee each with a view to working out the terms of the agreement that would eventually lead to the decamping. Sources revealed that after several meetings and consultations with some stakeholders, the two camps were said to have reached a tentative agreement. Part of the agreement, it was revealed, was that the two camps were to operate on a power-sharing formular between the decamping ANPP members and those of the original PDP.
According to the terms of the power– sharing agreement, it was agreed that the Turaki camp would retain all elective positions which they occupy– being that they were elected and therefore can not vacate before the expiration of their tenure. Such positions included those of the governor, his deputy, council chairmen and House of Assembly seats. In return, however, Governor Turaki's camp was to compensate the PDP members with cabinet appointments, such as commissioners and Special Advisers. In addition, in the recommendation of the state's indigenes for federal appointments, consideration was to be given to the PDP members ahead of those of the ANPP. The Source further gathered that part of the agreement include the abrogation and or amendment of the state's electoral laws, which the PDP considered as not fair and favourable to it in terms of the possibilities of electoral victory. To this end the two camps were said to have raised a team of legal experts to review the electoral law with a view to removing all the contentious clauses.
On the part of Governor Turaki, the legal team was headed by the state's Commissioner of Justice while Offion and Offion Chambers based in Kano, headed the PDP legal team. However, The Source gathered that barely a few weeks after the agreement was reached, it ran into troubled waters owing to what a source described as a display of insincerity on the party of the Turaki camp, as well as certain developments within the ANPP as a party. For one, the agreement was said to have begun to show signs of collapse from the point at which Governor Turaki reportedly refused to dissolve his cabinet and appoint fresh entrants so as to accommodate the old PDP elements as earlier agreed. Besides, the state's electoral law slated for amendment, despite the initial efforts of the legal team could not be amended several weeks after the agreement was reached. These and other grievances were said to have prompted the PDP elements to back out of the merger deal. On his part, however, The Source's findings revealed that Governor Turaki could not see to its immediate implementation owing to a rebellion in his ANPP against the merger moves. In fact, in the fore-front of the opposition were the state's National Assembly members led by Adamu Aliu Faruk, key ANPP officials, some council chairmen and some major ANPP stake holders. They stoutly opposed the idea of taking the ANPP in the state to the PDP, as well as the terms of the agreement between the PDP and Governor Turaki. To give impetus to their opposition, to the agreement, the “rebels” took their case to Kano were they met with Governor Ibrahim Shekarau and other Kano State ANPP stake- holders at the Africa House of the Kano state Government House. Speaking on behalf of the group Faruk, said they were in Kano to register their opposition to the move by Turaki to take the ANPP in Jigawa State to the PDP and also to solicit the support of Kano ANPP in their struggle.
Responding, Governor Shekarau assured them that he would look after them the way Governor Turaki used to do, should Turaki finally quit the party. This was to create bad blood between the two governors, with Governor Turaki reportedly accusing his Kano State counterpart of sponsoring “renegades” against him. However, the two groups were to pick the pieces of the collapsed agreement early this year, with their leaders resolving to forge ahead with the merger despite the initial set back. The Source gathered that as at the end of February this year arrangements for the formal decamping had been concluded, but had to be put on hold owing to the controversy generated by the now failed third term plot, which further served to create more disagreement especially within the ranks of the ANPP.
Although the formal decamping of Turaki finally took place penultimate Friday, July 7, 2006, thus concluding the tortous process towards the coming together of the otherwise strange bedfellows in Jigawa politics, The Source's findings last week revealed that the marriage may not after all stand the test of time. In fact, fears are rife that the merger instead of serving to cement the two groups and enhance the fortunes of the PDP, may serve otherwise. Already, all seem not to be well within the system as mutual suspicion and distrust appear to pervade the merger. For one, the organisation of the reception, it was gathered, is presently the cause of disagreement between the old PDP members and the Turaki group, with the old PDP members accusing the Turaki camp of having the grand plan of swallowing them politically.
According to sources, the initial composition of the organising committee of the reception– said to have gulped about N500million– had members drawn from both groups. But in a move believed to have jolted the old PDP members led by Lamido, the Turaki camp was said to have reconstituted the committee a few days to the reception, allegedly excluding all the old PDP members, including the state party officials.
In their place, Kano State PDP officials took over, with council chairmen from Jigawa, who were allegedly tasked N10million each for the reception, assisting them. In fact, The Source gathered that Senator Jibril Mansur Dogwua, Kano State PDP chairman, instead of Alhaji Isah Dunia Bahutu, the Jigawa PDP chairman served as the committee chairman. The old PDP members are believed not to be happy with the arrangement, which made them spectators in a game they were supposed to be major players.
Besides, the old PDP members are said not to be comfortable with their neglect in terms of the provision of adequate logistics support by the organising committee of the rally. The Source learnt on authority that while a generous amount of money was voted for the conveyance of Kano PDP members from the state's 44 local councils, little attention was said to have been paid to the Jigawa PDP members from the state's 27 councils. This was said to have informed the tactical boycott of another reception organised in Kano for Turaki penultimate Saturday, July 8, 2006, by chieftains of Jigawa State PDP.
In a development that surprised many, virtually all Jigawa PDP chieftains including Lamido and the state chairman of the party, Alhaji Bahutu avoided the reception held in Kano.
Similarly, another disagreement was said to have erupted between the two groups in Dutse a few hours before the formal reception following a last minute change effected in the programme by Governor Turaki which was perceived by the old PDP members as designed to humiliate them, especially their leader, Lamido. Sources revealed that a few hours before the commencement of the reception, Turaki included in the programme a tour of the state's five Emirate councils for project inspection.
According to the tour programme, PDP officials, Jigawa State government officials and other dignitaries were to go from Kazaure, Gumel, Hadejia, Ringim and back to Dutse to see the projects executed by the Turaki regime in the last seven years. This was, however, strongly resisted not only by the old members of the Jigawa PDP, but by other national officers of the party, who argued that since Turaki is coming to join them and not them joining him in his own party, he should subject himself to the culture ad rules of the PDP. Specifically, Lamido, Alhaji Shema, the Deputy National Chairman of the PDP North, and Alhaji Bello, National Vice Chairman North West and a host of other chieftains of the party reject all pleas by the National Chairman, senator Ali, for the tour to be under- taken before the reception. In fact, some top federal government officials and PDP chieftains who joined on the tour initially such as Alhaji Ahmed Malam – Madori, Minister of State for Power and Steel and Alhaji Lawal Batagarawa, a special Adviser to the president were said to have disembarked from the bus on their way to Kazaure, in protest. This was said to have forced the tour to be limited to Kazaure only. With the mutual suspicion mistrust and fear of political domination rocking the merger, observers fear that the marriage may afterall not last.
