Light, they say, is at the end of
the tunnel. But reverse seems to be the case for the All Progressives Congress
(APC) in Zamfara state. Call it black Friday, no other term can serve as a
suitable metonym for the devastating blow the gavel inflicted on the ruling
party a few hours ago. The highest jury in the land has declared the party’s
success in the last general election in the embattled state a pyrrhic victory.
On Friday, after a series of
legal battles and acerbic verbal exchanges which trailed the controversial
primary election of the APC in the state, the supreme court voided all votes
cast for the ruling party.
The apex court dismissed an
appeal filed by Mukhtar Shehu, the APC candidate in the governorship election,
challenging the nullification of the party’s primary elections.
Consequently, the court ordered
that the runner-up candidate in the March 9 election was duly elected. With
that, the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state become
the winners of the election.
However, we cannot but mention
the fact that the iconic judgement has also birthed some unforeseen losers.
BIGGEST WINNERS
BELLO MATAWALLE
Like the biblical verse that says the last shall be first, the supreme court ruling implies that Matawalle, the PDP candidate who was declared second in the governorship election, has emerged as the governor-elect of the state.
With less than five days to the
May 29 handover ceremony in the state, fate smiled on him as the rancour in the
ruling party worked in his favour.
KABIR MARAFA
While the purported primary
election didn’t go in his favour due to alleged imposition by Abdulaziz Yari,
governor of the state, aggrieved aspirants led by Marafa, senator representing
Zamfara central, instituted a suit against the party. While the court process
lingered, Marafa didn’t shift his ground as he maintained that there was no
primary election in the state, hence the party erred in supporting some
candidates.
The ruling comes as a big win for
Marafa in his quest to seek justice. In a similar vein, it shows his victory
over the acclaimed sole political kingmaker in Zamfara — the governor who
retired a sitting senator and former two-time governor — as the ruling has
changed the political landscape of the state.
PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY
While the ruling party is licking
its wound from the massive loss the party suffered in 2019 general election,
this ruling comes as a relief for the PDP. While the main opposition party won
15 states in the guber election, Zamfara has become a new addition to its
trophies, making 16.
Also, the PDP will take over the
political structure of the state including the national assembly seats, state
assembly and local government leadership.
THE BIGGEST LOSERS
ABDULAZIZ YARI
Talk about the main man at the
crux of the matter and you would find no other person than Abdulaziz Yari, the
governor of the state. He was declared senator-elect for Zamfara-west district.
With this judgement, he loses the seat to the candidate of the PDP.
While the crisis rocking the
state chapter of the party brewed, Yari fought tooth and nail with his
perceived political enemies. He wielded his fangs at Marafa, his home-based
foe, ready to bite. The national working committee (NWC) led by Adams
Oshiomhole, the APC national chairman, felt the heat of the fire. From one
court to the other, he waged the battle. As things stand, the drama comes to a
denouement — a tragic fall.
MUKHTAR SHEHU
After the court ruling that paved
way for the party to field candidates for the election, INEC had declared him
winner of the governorship election after he polled 534,541 votes across the 14
government areas of the state to defeat Matawalle who scored 189,452.
But the certificate of return
issued to him by the electoral umpire has become worthless.
TIJJANI YAHAYA-KAURA
Among the losers is Tijjani
Yahaya-Kaura, senator representing Zamfara north. The former minister of state
for foreign affairs was reelected for a second term in 2019, having defeated
Sahabi Ya’u, PDP’s candidate. With the court’s ruling, Ya’u is now the senator-elect
for Zamfara north.
IKRA BILBIS
The former information minister
was declared winner in Zamfara central senatorial district. Owing to the
judgement, he is going to lose his seat to Hassan Nasiha, the PDP candidate.
Bilbis had won the seat occupied by Marafa.
ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS
Unarguably, the ruling party
showed its dominance during the general election as it won most of the guber
seats and the presidential election. Most importantly, the party waxed stronger
in the north to maintain its grasp of the region. The loss of Zamfara is
definitely a big blow to the achievements it recorded during the elections, as
the state remains one of its strongholds in the north. The current figure shows
that the APC now has 19 states in its control.
Most observers had predicted that
the unresolved internal crisis within the party would produce casualties as the
apex court also dashed the party’s hopes in Rivers state, where none of its
candidates stood for the elections.
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