With less than a day to the presidential election, Namadi Sambo is in danger of failing to deliver his constituency to the People's Democratic Party.
The vice president has spent a hectic week fighting to avoid the embarrassment his party endured in last Saturday's parliamentary election, where they lost in both his ward and his polling unit. Out of the 11 federal constituencies where elections were held in the state, the Congress for Progressive Change won seven to PDP's four. The situation was worse in northern Kaduna where the vice president comes from.
For the man who was supposed to bring in northern votes as the most influential cabinet member in President Goodluck Jonathan's government, this failure to win even at the most basic level must have rankled. At a meeting the vice president recently held at his private lodge at Race Course, Kaduna, with top party
functionaries and other influential indigenes of the state, Mr Sambo reportedly said: "It would be a shame if the PDP loses the general elections in Kaduna while I remain the vice president. It has never happened in the history of this country where a sitting vice president failed to deliver his state."
Although Mr. Sambo has done all he could to avoid exactly such a scenario, the results of his efforts appear fruitless.
"He even had a new polling unit created by the mosque here, rather than the regular one we had before. But even the Imam of the mosque persistently preached that it was time to vote in another party," said a resident who voted at the same polling unit as the vice president.
Religious influence
Mr. Sambo himself has blamed his electoral misfortunes on a religious conspiracy. Umar Sani, his senior special assistant on media said it wasn't because the vice president has become less popular but because "some people have been going around the North warning that any Muslim that votes for PDP or any other party outside CPC (Congress for Progressive Change) is not a genuine Muslim and will be punished for that.''
Signs that the vice president has lost a great deal of influence in the north started long before that election. During the PDP presidential campaign in Kaduna, Mr Jonathan and his team were booed, and their train heckled wherever they went. By the time of the aborted National Assembly elections of April 2, Mr Sambo's value as a northern leader able to mobilise support for Mr Jonathan had plummeted.
"When he came for his accreditation at his Kabala ward, he met us on the queue. I tell you, not one person went over to him to say hello. Nobody cared that he was the vice president," said the resident.
What went wrong?
Mr. Sambo has been seeking for answers since last week's election. Aside from a quick dash to Lagos on Wednesday, he has all but relocated to Kaduna, and in several meetings, the man who allegedly won a popular mandate to become the governor of Kaduna, urged the people to tell him the truth, to forgive him all wrongs.
According to a permanent secretary in the state who was at one of the meetings, the vice president was told that in practically all the 23 local government areas of the state, there were issues with the manner in which the PDP conducted its primaries. Most of those who now form the core of the opposition to the PDP are former aggrieved members who left because of presumed injustice.
"The PDP is finished in Kaduna State," said Hassan Mohammed, a lawyer. "PDP will have to pay the price for jettisoning zoning, for its anti-north policies."
A text message has been going round that the vice president is spending huge sums of money to win back support in the state. A member of the PDP, who said he is working only for the victory of the state governor, Patrick Yakowa and not Mr. Sambo confirmed that there was, indeed rumour that the Vice President was providing money to pacify those who worked against the victory of the party last Saturday.
Husseini Jallo, a former political adviser to Mr. Sambo, debunked the allegation that he was part of those sharing money at Crystal garden hotel, Kaduna.
"I dey laugh, I wonder how some people will sit and formulate lies and stories," he said.
Mr Jallo, who was defeated by his CPC opponent in National Assembly elections, is said to be working for the victory of Mr Jonathan.
Similarly, Samailla Abdullahi expressed surprise at the allegation, saying that he is not an aide of Mr Sambo.
"How can I be distributing money for Sambo since I am not his employee and we are not even close. It's a false and baseless allegation .Please ignore it."
Sambo fights back
The vice president has held meetings with all kinds of groups and taken every complaint seriously, even appointing committees to look into the issues and expedite action. Already, a PDP source said, disputes among the party's chieftains have been resolved.
"I can assure you that Sambo will deliver his ward and the entire Kaduna State to PDP come Saturday," said Mr Sani.
All senior civil servants have also been sent to their various constituencies to ensure that their people vote for the Jonathan/Sambo ticket.
"There was no threat, but we were really lectured on how critical it is to deliver our constituency" said a permanent secretary from the southern Kaduna zone. There are signs that the last minute efforts of the vice president have started yielding some fruit. At the very least, the state, which only one week ago, seemed all but lost to the CPC, is looking a bit less certain.
"The senate/house of reps election was a protest vote against the way PDP held its primaries in the state. The candidates selected by the party were not the people's choice. The vice president has addressed most of these issues so PDP looks set to carry the day," said the permanent secretary.
Even Mr. Mohammed who remains angry that the party failed to follow its zoning policy as regards the presidency, is no longer sure that things were as bad as they were.
"I cannot say who will win anymore," he said. "You know politicians, some of them are hypocrites, and with all the stories you hear of money changing hands, who can say? Anything can happen."
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayThe vice president has spent a hectic week fighting to avoid the embarrassment his party endured in last Saturday's parliamentary election, where they lost in both his ward and his polling unit. Out of the 11 federal constituencies where elections were held in the state, the Congress for Progressive Change won seven to PDP's four. The situation was worse in northern Kaduna where the vice president comes from.
For the man who was supposed to bring in northern votes as the most influential cabinet member in President Goodluck Jonathan's government, this failure to win even at the most basic level must have rankled. At a meeting the vice president recently held at his private lodge at Race Course, Kaduna, with top party
functionaries and other influential indigenes of the state, Mr Sambo reportedly said: "It would be a shame if the PDP loses the general elections in Kaduna while I remain the vice president. It has never happened in the history of this country where a sitting vice president failed to deliver his state."
Although Mr. Sambo has done all he could to avoid exactly such a scenario, the results of his efforts appear fruitless.
"He even had a new polling unit created by the mosque here, rather than the regular one we had before. But even the Imam of the mosque persistently preached that it was time to vote in another party," said a resident who voted at the same polling unit as the vice president.
Religious influence
Mr. Sambo himself has blamed his electoral misfortunes on a religious conspiracy. Umar Sani, his senior special assistant on media said it wasn't because the vice president has become less popular but because "some people have been going around the North warning that any Muslim that votes for PDP or any other party outside CPC (Congress for Progressive Change) is not a genuine Muslim and will be punished for that.''
Signs that the vice president has lost a great deal of influence in the north started long before that election. During the PDP presidential campaign in Kaduna, Mr Jonathan and his team were booed, and their train heckled wherever they went. By the time of the aborted National Assembly elections of April 2, Mr Sambo's value as a northern leader able to mobilise support for Mr Jonathan had plummeted.
"When he came for his accreditation at his Kabala ward, he met us on the queue. I tell you, not one person went over to him to say hello. Nobody cared that he was the vice president," said the resident.
What went wrong?
Mr. Sambo has been seeking for answers since last week's election. Aside from a quick dash to Lagos on Wednesday, he has all but relocated to Kaduna, and in several meetings, the man who allegedly won a popular mandate to become the governor of Kaduna, urged the people to tell him the truth, to forgive him all wrongs.
According to a permanent secretary in the state who was at one of the meetings, the vice president was told that in practically all the 23 local government areas of the state, there were issues with the manner in which the PDP conducted its primaries. Most of those who now form the core of the opposition to the PDP are former aggrieved members who left because of presumed injustice.
"The PDP is finished in Kaduna State," said Hassan Mohammed, a lawyer. "PDP will have to pay the price for jettisoning zoning, for its anti-north policies."
A text message has been going round that the vice president is spending huge sums of money to win back support in the state. A member of the PDP, who said he is working only for the victory of the state governor, Patrick Yakowa and not Mr. Sambo confirmed that there was, indeed rumour that the Vice President was providing money to pacify those who worked against the victory of the party last Saturday.
Husseini Jallo, a former political adviser to Mr. Sambo, debunked the allegation that he was part of those sharing money at Crystal garden hotel, Kaduna.
"I dey laugh, I wonder how some people will sit and formulate lies and stories," he said.
Mr Jallo, who was defeated by his CPC opponent in National Assembly elections, is said to be working for the victory of Mr Jonathan.
Similarly, Samailla Abdullahi expressed surprise at the allegation, saying that he is not an aide of Mr Sambo.
"How can I be distributing money for Sambo since I am not his employee and we are not even close. It's a false and baseless allegation .Please ignore it."
Sambo fights back
The vice president has held meetings with all kinds of groups and taken every complaint seriously, even appointing committees to look into the issues and expedite action. Already, a PDP source said, disputes among the party's chieftains have been resolved.
"I can assure you that Sambo will deliver his ward and the entire Kaduna State to PDP come Saturday," said Mr Sani.
All senior civil servants have also been sent to their various constituencies to ensure that their people vote for the Jonathan/Sambo ticket.
"There was no threat, but we were really lectured on how critical it is to deliver our constituency" said a permanent secretary from the southern Kaduna zone. There are signs that the last minute efforts of the vice president have started yielding some fruit. At the very least, the state, which only one week ago, seemed all but lost to the CPC, is looking a bit less certain.
"The senate/house of reps election was a protest vote against the way PDP held its primaries in the state. The candidates selected by the party were not the people's choice. The vice president has addressed most of these issues so PDP looks set to carry the day," said the permanent secretary.
Even Mr. Mohammed who remains angry that the party failed to follow its zoning policy as regards the presidency, is no longer sure that things were as bad as they were.
"I cannot say who will win anymore," he said. "You know politicians, some of them are hypocrites, and with all the stories you hear of money changing hands, who can say? Anything can happen."
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