As political parties’ primary election draws nearer, barely less than a week at the moment, this article perpends on the state of Gombe State Politicking, particularly in Gombe North where social commentators and political analysts and, above all, people that matter, the congruence of constituents, have engaged in a series of discussions on the possibility of preferred candidates to represent the constituency in the National Assembly.
The notable discourse is that of the Senatorial District and Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye seat where some commentators argued about the competencies of the aspirants and their possibility of winning an election comes 2023 general election.
Scrutinizing the caliber and antecedents of the candidates as well as the local government areas they hail from could indeed boost their chances of being elected, as constituents prefer to have their own at the helm of affairs.
Virtually all the five local government areas have particular aspirants anointed by the stakeholders to represent them.
Kwami Local Government has Majidadin Gombe aspiring for Senator; Gombe has Usman Aliyu Garry aspiring for House of Representatives; Nafada has Aliyu Haidar; Kwami has Bala Tinka as Senator; and Dukku has Sen Saidu Alkali as Senator, and Aishatu Jibril Dukku as Member, House of Representatives.
While constituents seem to have focused on the candidate to represent them, the hands of political parties are tight on exploring options and making possible analyses on the candidate that can swiftly win the election at the polls.
In the latest development, the people’s democratic party (PDP) has concluded a consensus agreement between the two frontline aspirants, former Governor of Gombe State, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, and former Senator Bayero Usman Nafada where Dankwambo emerges as the party’s consensus candidate.
Former Governor Dankwambo, from Gombe Local Government Area, lost the senatorial seat in 2019 to an incumbent Senator, from Dukku Local Government Area, Saidu Ahmed Alkali, who also emerges as APC’s consensus candidate.
Sen. Saidu’s victory puts constituents from Gombe Local Government Area in excruciating pain because he defeated their son – many of them seem now poised to avenge him by coming out en mass to vote him out at the polls – because Gombe Local Government Area has the majority of the registered voters and any candidate that wins there stands a better chance of winning the election.
Usman Aliyu Garry, an aspirant for Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye seat at the House of Representatives, stands a better chance of winning the election, as he is to run against unpopular Funakaye candidate, Hon. Yahaya Bauchi Tongo of PDP. Hon. Bauchi represents the constituency with vacuity achievements to show.
Hon. Garry has many advantages over his rival amongst which are: he hails from the same local government area as the incumbent Governor; he is an APC candidate; Presidential and National Assembly elections are fixed on the same day; and he possesses public, including legislative and private sectors experience over Hon. Yahaya Bauchi.
The APC leadership in Gombe can not afford to miss Garry as its candidate because to defeat Yaya Bauchi requires having a candidate that can win Gombe Local Government Area with massive votes, and Garry could do that. The successes APC government recorded in Gombe is also an added advantage to any candidate they present.
However, it is now confirmed that former Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo (Talban Gombe) is the PDP Senatorial candidate in Gombe North, while Hon. Yaya Bauchi, Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye is the House of Reps candidate. Their election will hold on the same day as the President and they are both strong, especially in their respective local government areas.
furthermore, to challenge Dankwambo, the APC Senatorial candidate does not have to emerge from Gombe Local Government Area. Dankwambo, being a former governor, possesses an influence should never be underestimated in Gombe politics, especially in his local government area.
Based on the available data, Gombe Local Govt Area alone has about 300,000+ registered voters – which means that the voters and, by extension, the votes are twice as high as those of Kwami and Funakaye. So APC should not afford to go to the polls without a candidate from Gombe to share the votes. We should not allow Dankwambo alone to take a wide range of the votes – only Gombe candidate would challenge him – that is where Hon. Garry comes in.
It is, therefore, imperative that the Governor scrutinizes and ensures that the outcome of the first election would predict the outcome of the next one. Gombe Local Govt Area should now be considered for a reserved seat as we do not have more than a Representative seat. The data available shows that even in 2019 Hon. Bauchi won the election because of the votes Gombe Local Government Area gave him.
Hon. Bauchi polled 173,000 votes in the last election. Funakaye, his hometown, gave him 30,000; Kwami gave him 31,000+; and Gombe Local Government Area gave him higher votes – 122,000+.
As INEC Continues Voter Registration Exercise, Gombe Local Government Area may have 400,000 registered voters before the election. Should we, therefore, let TOLBA take them all? No! Thus, APC must challenge the PDP with a candidate from the metropolis.
The leadership of APC in Gombe should not make the mistake of giving the candidature to those who cannot win the election, especially considering the Gombe Local Government Area votes. We should also know that Yaya Bauchi may win Funakaye Local Government Area, and Gombe with the support and influence of Dankwambo. To challenge them, the candidate must also be anointed from the same local government area as Dankwambo.
If Dankwambo wins, Yaya Bauchi also wins – that victory by the opposition party would have a great influence on the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections – which APC can not afford to lose.
Misilli Writes from Gombe North.
