Within the next few days, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other political parties are expected to hold their primaries which will produce their governorship candidates for the 2023 general elections.
In Niger State, based on existing power rotation arrangement among the three senatorial zones, Niger South, comprising eight local government areas: Agaie, Lapai, Katcha, Bida, Gbako, Lavun, Edati and Mokwa, is expected to produce the next governor.
Many aspirants across political parties from the zone, also known as Zone A, have indicated interest in the governorship and bought expression of interest and nomination forms ahead of the primaries.
In fact, aspirants of the APC have scaled the first hurdle in the race, having been cleared to contest in the primary by the screening committee.
For the main opposition PDP, the governorship ticket was micro-zoned to Lavun/Mokwa/Edati following a meeting between elders and stakeholders from the area and the party’s leadership in the state.
A committee set up in a meeting brokered by the two key PDP leaders in the state and the zone, Professor Jerry Gana and Senator Zainab Kure, to interface with members with the possibility of producing a consensus candidate for the party earlier came up with the name of Alhaji Isah Liman Kantigi.
However, the outcome of the exercise did not go down well with the other contenders, who had also gone ahead to pick the forms.
The development has put the number of aspirants in the race to 12 with APC producing seven against PDP’s four, while the New Nigeria’s Peoples Party (NNPP) has a contender.
The aspirants contesting for the APC ticket are Mohammed Umar Bago, Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, Mohammed Idris Malagi, Engr Sani Ndanusa, Mohammed Kuta Yahaya, Mohammed Nda and Idris Makanta.
APC:
Mohammed Umar Bago
Bago is the Member representing Chachanga Federal Constituency. Although the three-term member is from Bida LGA in Zone A, he was able to command a lot of influence not only in Minna where he grew up, but across Niger East enough to win the race for a seat in the lower chamber. His support for the aspiration of the senator representing Niger East during the contest for the national chairmanship of the APC further endeared him to the people of the zone. Pundits believe that with such a solid support base outside his own zone, Bago will be a candidate to beat if he eventually gets the APC ticket.
His many projects and interventions across his constituency will also count as the clock ticks towards the primary. Many are also of the opinion that as a young politician who commands a lot of influence among the youths, such could tilt the poll’s outcome in his favour.
However, Bago’s acceptability rating is low among the elders and elite who believe he associates with thugs and indulges their excesses.
Ahmed Mohammed Ketso
Ketso is the incumbent deputy governor of the state, and by that status, the political leader of his zone. Ketso enjoys a very close relationship with his boss, Governor Bello, who handed the acting governor role to him a number of times. Many believe that the only way Bello can compensate Ketso is to anoint and hand the seat to him.
However, despite the cordiality they have shared for about seven years, Bello is said not to be disposed to Ketso succeeding him. Another minus for Ketso is the fact that although he is popular in his zone, many believe that he did not use the advantage of his position and closeness with his principal to galvanise projects to his area. Analysts say those who share such thought are likely to point at the Minna-Bida Road which has defied all interventions for the past seven years to buttress their argument.
Engr Mohammed Sani Ndanusa
He is a water engineer and former Minister of Youths, Sports and Social Development. Ndanusa also served as Vice President of the Nigerian Tennis Federation (NTF) for four years, and was appointed President of NTF in 2001. He was also Vice President of the 2008 Nigeria Olympic Committee. Ndanusa was elected Vice President of the Confederation of Africa Tennis in April, 2003, and reelected in 2007. At the home front, he had served as the General Manager of the Niger State Water Board and Commissioner for Transportation and Infrastructural Development. He was one of the earliest aspirants to declare intention to run for the governorship of the state on the platform of the APC.
However, pundits say Ndanusa is too elitist and has no grassroots appeal.
Mohammed Idris Malagi
Malagi is a media entrepreneur and publisher of the Abuja-based Blueprint newspaper. He is also a frontline contender for the state’s number one seat on the platform of the ruling party. Malagi showed early that he has the financial muscle to galvanise the support of the party leadership by donating 31 buses and N43m to the APC in the state “to enhance the party’s operations.” It is also the belief of many that his closeness with Gov Bello’s younger brother, Ibrahim, can tilt the pendulum his way. But government insiders say many despise the display of affluence and seeming extravagance that trailed his declaration. Many also see Malagi as an opportunist and outsider who is hardly in tune with the happenings at home.
However, pundits have argued that historically all the elected past governors of the state were hardly home-based and that Malagi’s situation was not different.
Mohammed Nda
Mohammed Nda alias Nda Currency is a former Director, Currency Operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He was also the Managing Director of the Niger State Development Company and Commissioner for Planning during Governor Bello’s first tenure. Many believe that as an economist and technocrat, he has the capacity to turn around the fortunes of the state for the better.
However, pundits say he is an upstart politically and without the support of a key player, hence that he can hardly make significant inroad in the race.
Mohammed Kuta Yahaya
Yahaya is a professor of forestry with the University of Ibadan. He was Secretary to the Niger State Government (SSG) during former Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu’s administration. Before then, he was also Commissioner for Information and Agriculture. He is believed to have the backing of one of the top retired generals in the state and also appeals to the elite in the state.
However, analysts believe he will have general acceptability problems and lacks resources to match other contenders in the APC fold.
Idris Usman Makanta
As the Chairman of the Niger State chapter of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Makanta, believed to have the support of farmers in the state, his candidature will sell. However, many believe he lacks the much-needed exposure and right backing to scale through another round of the process leading to the governorship election in the state.
PDP:
Muhammad Sani Kutigi
A son of the late legal icon and retired Chief Justice of the Nigeria (CJN), Idris Legbo Kutigi, Muhammad is in the race for the governorship seat on the platform of the PDP. He at some point represented Lavun/Mokwa/Edati Federal Constituency. Analysts believe he is influential and will enjoy his late father’s goodwill, especially among the elite in the state.
Isah Liman Kantigi
Kantigi is a former Chairman of Edati LGA and ex-Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the administration of former Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu. He was the running mate to Umar Nasko, the PDP governorship flag bearer in 2015. He is believed to be one of the top contenders for the PDP ticket, and analysts say he has grassroots appeal, but that he needs to get the support of a key elite if he must make any significant impact in the race.
Abdulrahman Hassan Gimba
Gimba is a lawyer and a former Minister of Sports, as well as Chairman of the National Sports Commission. He was sacked in a cabinet reshuffle in October, 2008, and since he exited office he has been lying low. His declaration for the Niger State governorship seat on the platform of the PDP has come as a surprise to many. Analysts believe the former minister has the capacity and experience to harness the state’s rich endowments, but that he is too principled for the country’s kind of politics.
Abdullahi Isah Jankara
Jankara is one of the frontline contenders for the number one seat and earliest to pick the PDP’s expression of interest and nomination forms. He had a successful public sector career where he rose to the position of Controller with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). He is said to be influential across all the zones and close to one of the key elders and stakeholders in the state and could make an impact in the race.
NNPP
Ibrahim Yahaya Mohammed (Sokodeke)
Mohammed is the Chief Executive Officer of Sokodeke Group of Companies and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) governorship aspirant in the state. Although his profile is relatively low in the politics of the state, he commanded some measures of influence in Zone “A” where his foundation, Sokodeke Foundation, has been touching lives of the people, especially the youths through various empowerment initiatives. However, analysts say with little or no influence in the two other zones and absence of a key backer among the power brokers in the state, he may not make an appreciable impact in the race.
