* Aisha Buhari wants to do in Adamawa what Patience Jonathan did in Rivers – Bindow supporters
* Modi moves to modify the mode of mandate from impunity to transparency in democracy with sanity – Modi supporters
* Victim turns villain, prey turns predator – Literary critic
* Ribadu wouldn’t, Modi must be listened to – Political analyst
By Adam Muhammad Dodo
The electorates would have been served, for a desired choice, the gubernatorial aspirant under APC, just like PDP and SDP Monday, packaged their candidates for the contest.
However, owing to the alleged sharp practice defined as unpalatable to the philosophy of change nurtured by the APC, the National Working Committee was proactive in responding to the complaint of anomaly reported by one of the aspirants who was said to have abhorred lies and deceit, the twin pillars of corruption in government, as totally untypical of a worthy leader, as much as remaining aloof, without challenging it, could be counted for either complacency or incapability of the trusted to stand in defence of the electorates and the state against being reduced to mere republic of liars.
The first whistle-blower was being identified as Hon. Abdurrahman Abubakar a lawmaker representing Mubi South local government area in the Adamawa state House of Assembly.
Hon. Abdurrahman who called on delegates to vote out governor Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla Bindow for annihilating the economy and subjecting the state into bankruptcy is the chairman Committee on Budget and Appropriation.
Hon. Abdurrahman defected from APC to ADC because of what he would describe as fantastic impunity in APC Adamawa party supported by Oyegun, the then national chairman of the party.
Abdurrahman has earlier accused governor Bindow of diversion of public finds to bribe the delegates who could be having defective memory, or simply, moronic to have suddenly forgotten the neglect, the use and dump and how not to be in tune with the critical thinking that they would be played with like yo-yo, while the beneficiaries would eventually be chanting “oyoyo”.
The delegates who elected Bindow for the 2015 gubernatorial election, were reported not to have been provided any window for political a ventilation. Some of them were said to be suffocated with deceit and the Bindow window of democratic dividends were defined as mirage.
The next allegation of irregularities coming from the Modi campaign organisation was that, delegates were lured with N100,000 each to do the Bindow bidding, blocking any window for the wind of integrity to change the mode for the mood of the moment, the impunity Modi would not leave unchallenged for modification.
However, hearkening to the moral call, the national working committee of the APC, eventually, stopped and rescheduled the governorship primaries in Lagos, Enugu and Adamawa states.
That of Lagos was shifted to Tuesday. While that of Enugu and Adamawa, were not only rescheduled for Thursday, the mode of the primaries has also been modified from indirect to direct primaries.
The development was analysed as being distasteful to governor Bindow’s camp that would interpret the disappointment they would not disenfranchise even if disenchanted, as the appearance of a joker, when every arrangement would have been made for a winning game; actualising the James Hadley Chase’ fictional thriller.
The arrangement that seemed not to be comfortable for Malam Nuhu Ribadu the anti corruption tsar, who wrote withdrawing, from the race and Dr. Mahmoud Halilu Ahmed known as Modi a gentleman with the spirit of social welfare who nurtured the philosophy of change from the old ways of shortchanging the electorates to the refined way of instilling moral sensibility and transparency, thereby sanitising the political system in the state as much as he would restore public confidence in governance as a governor.
The Bindow supporters, reacting to the development, were alleged to reduce their misfortune as the political plague caused by Modi, whom they claimed, was enjoying the backing of the presidency, the APC leadership and the Fulani hegemony, the allied forces who were bent on weeding by throwing Bindow out of the window of Adamawa government house.
Others cheaply reduced the fear as a repeat of the Rivers 2015 experience in which Patience Ebele Jonathan, using presidential might superimposed Wike for governorship.
“Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, using presidential might, is planning to superimposed Dr. Mahmood her brother as governor.”
That should this happened, they would be left with no option than to lean on Fintiri of PDP. Some of them were reported to have said that they would opt for Emmanuel Bello of SDP.
However, political analysts have interpreted the somewhat dry rather flat threat or understanding, as consequent upon either defective memory or chronic masochism; a disorder in which one derives satisfaction in being inflicted with pain and suffering.
“With the unpaid salaries, no pension in spite of the bailouts and the Paris Club refund funds, indigenous contractors sidelined, dysfunctional healthcare system, educational rot, no women and youth empowerment, skills acquisition centres left to ruin, rural areas rendered to rust owing to neglect with unaccounted for LGA monthly allocations, disrespectful of the court order and the legitimacy and integrity of the monarchies, you could go on and on listing the disappointments. How could it be easily forgotten?”
The attack on Modi, a literary critic argued, was aimed at giving a dog a bad name to hang it, by reducing a victim to villain or a prey to predator, to bring down the popularity of the protagonist, deploying the service of political might the state could muster.
Few days to the primaries, there were insinuations that Ribadu, like Gundiri, both from the central senatorial zone of the state, has withdrawn from the race to join formidable alliance with a view to getting Bindow out of Dougirei Hill.
The insinuations were however debunked by the members of the Ribadu campaign organisation.
The Newshawk Sunday, reported two angles of the reasons for Ribadu’s withdrawal from the race.
One group, the Newshawk reported, said that Ribadu’s withdrawal from the race was to reinforce support for governor Bindow, because, as the group alleged, Ribadu was betrayed and abandoned by those at the national level who earlier encouraged him simply because of the younger brother of Aisha the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, has signed in to the race.
While in another report, the Newshawk carried the contrary view of the other group of his supporters that Ribadu would be withdrawing from the race to join formidable alliance with Modi against Bindow.
However, the Periscope Global Investigate has got wind of the correspondence. The letter dated September 30, 2018, addressed to the chairman APC governorship primaries Adamawa state signed by Malam Nuhu Ribadu notifying withdrawal from the party primaries read thus:
“Sir,
“I write to inform you of my decision to withdraw from the governorship primaries for Adamawa state holding today.
“I took the decision out of my own volition and in consultation with my campaign directorate and teeming supporters.
“I wish you successful assignment and nice stay in Adamawa state.”
On his part, Dr. Mahmood Halilu Ahmed Modi simply wrote to the APC national secretariat against conspiracy and the complexity associated with complacency in silence or inaction, with the heading: “Protest Against the Conduct of Gubernatorial Primary Election in Adamawa.
Modi’s letter also written on September 30, 2018 addressed to national chairman, APC headquarters Abuja and copied to the chairman, Adamawa state gubernatorial primary election committee read thus:
“Sir,
“We write in respect of the above caption to intimate the national chairman and members of the national working committee of the APC on the observed travesties, preparatory to the conducts of the gubernatorial primary election in Adamawa state on September 30 2018
“Whilst we confirm that all necessary avenues and options were considered in the meeting held in respect of the state gubernatorial primary elections, to enable the conduct of free, fair and acceptable outcome, we hereby wish to notify your office of the following violations against the internal democratic process of our party – the APC.
1. The delegate tags were printed by the state government.
2. The delegate list as at 8pm were not available for our scrutiny and confirmation.
3. The venue of the primary election is not well secured, illuminated and it’s raining heavily.
“Contrary to the directives of the national working committee of the party, which suspended the state executive committee for 6 months, it is to our greatest dismay that some of the suspended state executive committee members are parading themselves in acting capacity and were constituted by the state governor as the local organising committee in which the interest of other candidates were not considered as directed by national working committee.
“Finally, it is worthy of note that all of the above issues were presented to the primary election committee but are not taken into consideration as they were blatantly ignored. It is therefore our candid observation that this election cannot be conducted properly. Neither will this exercise be free fair and credible. We therefore, call on the good office of the national working committee to immediately reconstitute the Adamawa state gubernatorial primary election committee, unless our observations are properly addressed, we cannot continue to participate in the process of the primaries.”
The NWC could be quick realising that should the impunity go unchecked, APC would loose Adamawa to the opposition party.
This could be described as matured and brilliant way of addressing democratic impunity devoid of any violence. (Harkan ‘yan boko kenan).
However, with the announcement of the rescheduling of the APC governorship primaries to Thursday by the NWC and the modification of mode of primaries from indirect to direct for Adamawa and Enugu states, the Nuhu Ribadu campaign organisation issued a new statement, which was corroborated by Ribadu himself, that he would be in the race for Thursday. This was described as a painful U-turn now that anomaly has been redressed.
“What happened or what will happen to the Nuhu Ribadu’s letter of withdrawal from the race?” A critic asked.
“Ribadu wouldn’t be listened to if he should’ve complained. He probably would’ve been reminded of how he was being superimposed in 2015 to contest under PDP without any consideration of due process. He’s really acted wisely with the silent withdrawal. Now that NWC has responded to Modi’s, though painful but not shameful, Ribadu could withdraw his withdrawal letter from the race,” A political analyst remarked.