National Assembly primaries: Mark, Ndoma-Egba, Tukur, Nenadi, Adeyemi battle for survival

National Assembly primaries: Mark, Ndoma-Egba, Tukur, Nenadi, Adeyemi battle for survival

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The much talked about automatic return ticket arrangement for PDP senators and members of the House of Representatives has collapsed, forcing top-ranking members of the National Assembly into the battle of their political career.

Many of them are now to slug it out with aspirants who are either sponsored by
sitting governors or other vested interests.

Primaries for the House of Reps election are scheduled for today, while those of
the Senate will come up tomorrow.

The last few weeks have witnessed intense horse-trading by President Goodluck
Jonathan, the PDP and Senators for the purpose of giving automatic tickets to
some sitting federal legislators.

All these have now come to nought after some governors tried to renege on the
agreement reached by the President, the PDP and Senators.

The last of such agreement was the invocation of a “Doctrine of irreducible
minimum” of at least automatic ticket for one senator per state.

Governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Gabriel
Suswam (Benue) and Martin Elechi (Ebonyi) have refused to forgo their
aspirations to go to the Senate or relax their grip on the politics of their state.
Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) and Sullivan Chime (Enugu) yesterday
withdrew from the Senatorial race.

The roll call of Senators fighting for survival are the President of the Senate,
Chief David Mark; the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba; the Chairman of the
Rules and Business Committee, Ita Enang; the Chairman of the FCT Committee,
Smart Adeyemi; Tukur Bello, Aloy Etuk, and others.

The only survivor at press time was the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike
Ekweremadu, whose victory at the court has forced Governor Sullivan Chime to
forego his aspiration for Enugu West.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the pact on automatic ticket
reached at the Villa with President Goodluck Jonathan for PDP senators failed as some governors and party members are not doing enough to respect it.

The development forced a former National Chairman of PDP, Senator Barnabas
Gemade (Benue North-West), to withdraw from Sunday primaries with a
December 2 letter to the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu.
It was gathered that having been left to their fate, senators have decided to take
their destinies in their hands.

In Benue State, a former Federal Permanent Secretary, Chief Mike Onoja, has
refused to step down for the President of the Senate, Chief David Mark for Benue
South District.

According to findings, Onoja was one of the financiers of Governor Gabriel
Suswam’s election during his first term and it has been difficult for the governor
to look him in the face to prevail on his sponsor to sacrifice for Mark.

A source said: “Onoja, who is from Ado Local Government Area, is insisting on
power shift. He has vowed to stop Mark’s fifth attempt at the senatorial slot.”
For Benue North East, Suswam has virtually intimidated Gemade out of the race
with incumbency factor.

A sullen Gemade merely told Muazu: “There is in fact, no room for an honest and
law-abiding member of this party in having a fair chance in any contest in the
forthcoming primary elections as anyone who is capable of manipulating the
process, albeit illegally, is free to do so and will be protected.”

In Cross River Central, Governor Liyel Imoke has remained committed to his plan
to snatch the ticket from the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) for his
loyal associate, John Ewa Eno.

Ndoma-Egba, one of the hitherto beneficiaries of auto ticket, will now face Imoke
and Eno in a fierce contest on Sunday which might be laced with incumbency
might.

In Akwa Ibom State, Governor Godswill Akpabio is unrelenting in taking over Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial ticket from the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Service, Senator Aloy Etuk.

Although the governor visited Etuk at home during the week, the visit failed as
the Senator merely added a clincher, “we will meet at the primaries.”
For Akwa Ibom North East, the governor is backing his former Commissioner for
Finance, Albert Akpan, to displace Ita Enang, who is the Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Rules and Business.

But there has been pressure on Akpabio to allow Enang to have a ‘second term’.
Findings also confirmed that it might be a fight to the finish between Senator
Bello Tukur and the only female member of the House of Representatives from
Yola North/Yola South/ Girei Federal Constituency, Hon. Aishatu Ahmed Dahiru
(Binani) for Adamawa Central Senatorial District.

Armed with intimidating achievements, Binani’s influence has overshadowed any agreement at the Villa.

“Binani has touched many lives such that anyone trying to vie for a senatorial slot with her will be committing political suicide. She is a political hurricane,” said a source.

It was however learnt that a stakeholders’ session was convened last night in
Yola on Adamawa primaries.

Despite his withdrawal from the race for the Deputy Senate President (DSP), Ike
Ekweremadu, Governor Sullivan Chime is locked in a cold war with the DSP over
Enugu East Senatorial ticket.

Chime’s former Chief of Staff, Ifeoma Nwobodo, is seeking to secure the ticket
from the incumbent, Senator Gilbert Nnaji and a former Minister of Information,
Mr. Frank Nweke, who are loyalists of Ekweremadu.

A source said: “Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo is from the North West Senatorial District,
although she is married to someone from the North East District. If you know
Enugu politics, she cannot deny the people of the North East District of their
legitimate slot.”

Despite his visible and outstanding achievements, Senator Smart Adeyemi (Kogi
West Senatorial District) is being challenged by the immediate past Chairman of
Kogi State Security Trust Fund, Mr. T. J. Faniyi, and a former member of the
House of Representatives, Hon. Sam Aro, who was one of those named in the oil
subsidy scam but trying to prove his innocence.

A source said: “With his sterling qualities and outstanding performance, it is likely to be an easy ride for Senator Adeyemi who has been endorsed by the seven chairmen of the local governments in the district.

“Going by Adeyemi’s adoption by Governor Idris Wada and with campaign war
chest coming from his benefactor, Oil Mogul Jide Omokore, the incumbent
senator has about 90 per cent edge over his opponents.”

In Kogi Central, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman was schemed out of the
automatic ticket arrangement at a recent session at the Presidential Villa.
Instead, three new aspirants are jostling to replace the youngest Senator in the
Upper Chamber. They are the Chairman of Okene Local Government, Salihu
Ogembe, Alh. Deda Attah, and M. I. Onimisi.

The emergence of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim as the new godfather of Ebonyi State politics has sealed the hope of
second term ticket for the three Senators from the state who are loyalists of
Governor Martin Elechi. In a surprising political realignment, Anyim and former
Governor Sam Egwu have made a mince meat of Elechi, who is now politically
stranded with all his anointed candidates for the National Assembly. The affected Senators from Ebonyi are Paulinus Igwe Nwagu (Ebonyi Central District); Christopher Nwankwo(Ebonyi North District) and Sunday Ogbuoji (Ebonyi South).

In Taraba State, two of the three senators who were instrumental to bringing the
Acting Governor, Danladi Abubakar to power are still having to cope with
automatic ticket for them. Senator Emmanuel Bwacha is expected to contest for
PDP ticket in Taraba South District with Gen. Ishaya Bauka and Bitrus Rimande.

For Taraba Central, Senator Umar Abubakar Tutare has an opponent in Kabiru
Marafa. Those seeking Taraba North District’s ticket are new comers, including
ex-Governor Jolly Nyame and Ali Kona.

There were indications last night that the odds are in favour Bwacha and Nyame for their loyalty to the ailing Governor
Danbaba Suntai and roles in the ouster of the former Acting Governor, Garba
Umar. In Kaduna State, ex-Governor Ahmed Makarfi is sure of a second term
ticket after his opponent failed to obtain the nomination form because of the
towering political influence of the senator. It was a tactical move by the PDP
following rumours that Makarfi’s camp was disenchanted and might defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

 But a former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, is being challenged by three aspirants. These are Barrister Mark Jacob (a former Commissioner for Justice under Makarfi), a former Commissioner under late Governor Patrick Yakowa, Dr. John Ayuba, and ex-military administrator of Taraba State, Col. Yohanna Dickson. In Oyo State, Senator Hosea Agboola from Oyo North is under fire at the home front from Hon. Kareem Abiodun Tajudeen, who is a member of the House of Representatives from Saki.

 In Sokoto State, the battle for the Central Senatorial ticket is between the incumbent PDP Senator Ahmed Muhammadu Maccido and Alh. Ibrahim Magaji Gusau. APC is just waiting in the wing for the PDP candidate. In Delta State, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan voluntarily shelved his senatorial ambition for Delta South District for the incumbent James Manager after a session with President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP National Chairman in Abuja. He said he dropped his bid to avoid bloodshed in the state. 

He said: “As a manager of the process in the state level I have always appealed to other contestants that election must not be a do-or die affair. In this state, there has been political tension. Unfortunately in this state, there has been ethnic tension that seems to be threatening the peace and security. 

This has been noticed at the national level. “Mr. President and the national hierarchy are concerned and a lot of discussion has gone on. My main agenda is the peace and security and anything that will threaten the peace and security of the state I will do everything to stop it. 

Having said that, some of the things that lead to insecurity in the Niger-Delta are economic issues and political and this political era. “The state has been more peaceful than I met it seven years ago. And I am determined to leave Delta peaceful. Anything that will cause insecurity I will do everything to stop. “Anybody who believes he must get to a position through the loss of life is inhuman, I will not want to have anything that will lead to the loss of life. Now that I am out of the race, it gives me more leverage to manage the transition and more time to be involved in national issues.

Nobody has forced me to step down, I owe it to Deltans for the peace and
security of the state.” The Presidency, it was learnt, had directed Senator
Manager to work with Governor Uduaghan to ensure the emergence of Sir
Anthony Obuh as the PDP governorship candidate tomorrow and also work for the continued sucess of the party in the state.

 Ahead of the National Assembly primaries, automatic ticket-seeking senators had given President Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) a fresh condition. The senators came up with a “Doctrine of irreducible minimum” of auto-ticket for at least one returnee Senator from states controlled by the PDP. 

Although it was initially agreed that 40 Senators should be given automatic tickets, PDP governors rejected the proposal leading to the pruning down of the list to 20. The embattled senators however felt short-changed by the decision of the President and PDP leadership to renege on the “unwritten agreement” reached some few weeks ago at the Presidential Villa.

The development led to fresh talks on the fate of the PDP senators, which had
not been concluded at press time. The automatic ticket bug was not extended to
all members of the House of Representatives whose number was described as
wieldy by the PDP. The spate of defections in the House also made the PDP to
be more circumspect in giving a blanket automatic ticket to its members in the
lower chamber.

 A party source said: “The PDP has never had it rough in the House like in the 7th House of Representatives. Some of our members have virtually become rebels.

 This is why we are being extra-careful in this automatic concession thing.” It was learnt that the gesture was limited to only ‘loyal’ principal officers. 

These are the Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha (Imo). Majority Leader, Mulikat Adeola-Akande (Oyo); Majority Whip, Ishaka Mohammed Bawa (Taraba); Deputy House Leader, Hon. Leo Ogor (Delta) and Deputy Chief Whip, Ahmed Mukhtar (Niger). But the auto-ticket concession is being resisted in the affected constituencies.

 For instance, the Majority Leader, in the House of Representatives, Hon. Mulikat Adeola-Akande is not spared the rigours of primaries following resistance from some of her constituents, who are opposed to automatic ticket for her.

 She is going to battle for the Ogbomoso North/ South/Orire Federal Constituency with Hon. Segun Ogunwuyi( a serving member of the
Oyo State House of Assembly) and Hon. Ezekiel Ajani Oyedepo.

 The only political pillar of Adeola-Akande in the constituency is ex-Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala who is unhappy with the situation in PDP and may defect to another party if the Presidency does not intervene. Adeola-Akande has however chosen to remain in PDP, a decision which might make her a political orphan.