‘‘Sadly in 2007, Nigerians collectively failed to regain their popular sovereignty and were unable to prove that power belongs to the people while criminal powers that be in the polity succeeded in confiscating the votes of the masses’’- Quoted in Nowinta’s book 2009: Where We Are (page 144)
Pebbles with Igbotako Nowinta
Once again over the weekend another Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) sitting Governor has been sacked by the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, Nigeria.
That singular decision has recorded the first ever female Governor democratically elected in the chequered political history of Nigeria.
From the body language of PDP’s national chieftains, I see them challenging this recent judgment at the appeal court.
Whether the judgment is taken to the Appeal Court or not it has proved a point in the turf of electoral gymnastics in Nigeria.
Like the case of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State who took his election battle to the Supreme Court before he triumphed over those who wanted to mess him up within his party, this one is unique.
In Amaechi’s case there was a PDP primary which favored him, but the leaders thought otherwise and gave the party Governorship nomination to a man who did not win.
And the adopted candidate went on to win the Rivers State Governorship Election proper.
Then, Amaechi made history as a man who did not go through the rigors of electioneering campaign, financial stress and psychological trauma to be the Governor of Rivers State when the court decided in his favor on the ground that he duly won the PDP primary.
His victory at the Supreme Court sent shock waves through the ocean of PDP political godfathers who felt they already had their way. Consequently, Amaechi was never forgiven by the party’s leadership.
Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan, also known as Mama Taraba, was the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the April 11th 2015 Governorship Election.
And she became the newest and the first democratically elected female Governor of Taraba State, nay in the whole federation courtesy of the Tribunal ruling last weekend.
Mama Taraba fought frantically and came behind Governor Dennis Ishaku of the PDP as she scored the second highest number of votes in that turbulent Gubernatorial tussle.
The Taraba State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal headed by Mr. Justice Musa Danladi Abubakar ruled that Governor Dennis Ishaku went against section 85 of the 2010 Electoral Act.
That Dennis Ishaku forced his way on the electorate in Taraba State because he was never sponsored by his party, PDP or any other party in the state as stipulated by the law:
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) threw spanner into the wheel of Governor Ishaku’s case by declaring that it has no evidence of any Governorship primary conducted by the PDP in Taraba State.
INEC was emphatic that it did not receive the 21 days mandatory notice of invitation from the PDP.
Agreed that Senator Aisha Alhassan went to the Tribunal asking for the Governorship election to be cancelled, alleging various malpractices, but since the Tribunal in its wisdom discovered otherwise who do we blame?
I have said consistently here that I am not a fan of neither the APC nor the PDP, what yours sincerely is concerned about is nothing but sanity in the way political parties and politicians conduct themselves as stipulated by the laws regulating them.
For crying out aloud, why on earth would a political party be a law unto itself in the name of impunity and flagrant disregard for laid down rules?
Why would Dennis Ishaku and his army of supporters or godfathers dare established rules and regulations by jumping into the
Gubernatorial waters just like that?
Pending what happens at the appeal Court, the victory of Mama Taraba to me is a clear pointer to the fact that any form or iota of impunity within the political parties in Nigeria should never be encouraged in any disguise.
Politicians must learn to play politics within the confines of the Electoral Act at all times and never at the whims and caprices of some desperate and retrogressive characters who seek power for their own selfish gains.
Now we are all living witnesses to the useless antics of some politicians that have led our country into the darkest alley of underdevelopment, because unprepared and visionless individuals have been forced several times on the helpless electorate.
In a nutshell the recent victory of Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan over Governor Dennis Ishaku is one of sanity in our democracy.
The era of anything goes must be discarded by any means necessary.
Nowinta wrote Where We Are – A Call for Democratic Revolution in Nigeria
