The altercations between the two major political parties in Kano State, All Progressives Congress (APC) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) is becoming alarming, some pundits have said.
Both parties have been pointing fingers at each other over clandestine moves to rig and sponsorship of mercenaries to truncate the gubernatorial election in the state.
Watchers of political events in the state note that the escalating tension ahead of the governorship election in the state does not spell well for the commercial nerve center of the north which has had to suffer a lot of political violence especially during elections.
However, the opposition NNPP fired the first salvo ahead of the forthcoming election. The attacks were contained in a speech by NNPP state chairman, Hon Umar Hudu Doguwa.
He said: “The first leg of the 2023 general elections was conducted on February 25, 2023. The exercise drew widespread condemnations from all opposition parties, all local and international election observers, and majority of Nigerians because it had not only fallen short of the barest minimum expectations of Nigerians but was also characterized by alleged scandalous election malpractices.
“Whereas in Kano some unpatriotic, indisciplined, and heartless politicians within the ruling party in Kano State are still scheming to cause even more mayhem during the forthcoming gubernatorial elections with the intent of not only disrupting it but also killing even more people in addition to the over twenty persons they allegedly killed in Tudun Wada, Takai, Makoda, Gwale and Rogo local governments, to mention but a few.
“We are in possession of credible information regarding the plans being hatched by Governor Ganduje and his cohorts to perpetrate violence and disrupt the election hoping to generate the infamous 2019 scenario.
“It is important to state that the very persons that entered the collation centre in Nasarawa Local Government and physically and destroyed election results in 2019 are the same people that are now rewarded with the gubernatorial tickets of the APC in 2023.
“Being one of the most allegedly corrupt public officers in the Country, Mr. Ganduje has gone very far in Compromising some law enforcement agents, especially the Kano director of DSS (who we also believe is doing the biddings of his bosses in Abuja).
“The partisan role that some of them played in the February 25, 2023 in some local government areas in the state is exactly what he wants them to repeat in the forthcoming election.
“We are aware that he is facing some resistance from some of the heads of the agencies in Kano and he has rushed to Abuja to meet with their bosses.
“We know that the Director of the DSS in Kano who also operates as the state “Chairman of Gandujiya,” has vowed never to allow any party other than the ruling party to win the gubernatorial race in Kano.
“The grandeur display of partisanship by the DSS in the February 25, 2023 election leaves no one in doubt that the threat by the Kano director is indeed very serious.
“It is especially important to place on record that all attempts by Ganduje to compromise the Inspector General of Police has failed.
“We wish to commend the IGP’s patriotism and professionalism and his non-partisan position.”
He added, “In Kano state, we will never again allow the peoples’ mandate to be stolen. They have stolen it in 2019.
“We restrained our supporters and stopped them from taking to the streets to protest. This time around, it will be very difficult to restrain our supporters,again.
“We dare say that any law enforcement agent and any INEC Staff, ad hoc or not, that will do their work patriotically and professionally without compromising or colluding with Gandujiyya to subvert the peoples mandate is surely a blessing to the good people of Kano state.
“We make haste to add that anybody that is coming to Kano state to cause mischief and attempt to tamper with election results, will be on their own.
“The Kano NNPP is fully ready. We must,and we will, protect the mandate of the People at all costs,” he said.
However, in its swift reaction to the allegations levelled against it, the APC in Kano State said it would check any attempt by the opposition NNPP to unleash any form of electoral malfeasance, during the forthcoming gubernatorial and state Assembly elections that could lead to defeat of the ruling party or declaration of the election as inconclusive.
The state commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Malam Muhammad Garba, who sounded the warning in a statement, said the APC was compelled to bring the plan to the attention of the public, “because this could disrupt the governorship and House of Assembly elections to its favour.”
He further stated that the government had received credible information on how thugs will be hired from villages in Kano and beyond to upset the electoral process through violence, massive rigging, box snatching and arson.
Garba recalled that in 2019, the opposition managed a well-organized election rigging network, particularly in the Metropolitan local governments, where youths, mostly without voter cards, were engaged to perpetrate the act.
The commissioner alleged that this time around, the NNPP was planning to bring chaos through the use of thugs to cause mayhem with a view to dispersing voters at polling units in order to have the opportunity to rig the elections and subvert the will of the people.
He further alleged that the statement issued by the opposition in the state was just playing the victim card, but had perfected their nefarious plans to ensure that they disrupt the electoral process and deploy maximum violence.
He assured that the APC would ensure that peace prevails in the state. The commissioner, however, called on relevant security agencies to be alive to their responsibilities by fishing out any individual or group bent on fomenting trouble to deny people the opportunity to exercise their franchise.
However, the context and extent of the political rivalry draws from a long battle for who is supreme in Kano politics, between Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and his former boss and NNPP presidential candidate in the last election, Sen Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Not long after Kwankwaso handed over the governorship baton to Ganduje, his deputy with whom he served eight years in office, they fell out.
The friction was so intense that a series of interventions by APC leadership (which Kwankwaso belonged to at the time) and even President Buhari failed.
Kwankwaso, riding on his Kwankwasiyya movement, eventually left APC for PDP. In the 2019 election, he supported Abba Kabir Yusuf, who almost defeated Ganduje who was seeking a second term.
Although the election was declared inconclusive, Ganduje narrowly won with 1,033,695 votes to Kabir’s 1,024,713 votes.
Kwankwaso, now in NNPP, renewed his show of dominance in Kano politics with his massive win in state during the last presidential election. Kwankwaso polled a total number of 997,279 votes defeating APC’s, Bola Tinubu, who got a total of 517,341 votes and PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, who scored 131,716 votes.
Nevertheless, like many stakeholders in the state, the Kano State Peace Committee (KPC) which has played a significant role in mobilising all the political parties to play safe as they participate in the forthcoming gubernatorial election, has expressed deep concern over recent turn of events in the state.
Recall that over eight political parties have signed a Peace Accord, during a parley organized by KPC, designed towards ensuring violent-free elections in Kano.
But recent violent clashes by some party supporters have taken the KPC aback.
According to a statement released, on Tuesday, to Journalists by the Secretary of KPC, Ambassador Ibrahim Waiya, the body expressed deepest concern over the increasing violent attacks among political party supporters in the state.
Waiya stated that the KPC has observed, with dismay, the blatant violation of the recent Peace Accord signed by eight political parties’ governorship candidates in the state.
He regretted that the Peace Accord has been grossly violated by some party supporters with violent clashes in recent times, especially at the following notable locations: Dambatta/Makoda, Rimin Kebe, Mandawari, Rigiyar Lemo, Larabar Abasawa, Dawakin Kudu and Tudun Wada.
According to the statement: “This ugly development is glaringly threatening the peace and security of the state. The most current reported violence unleashed on the residents of Rimin Kebe quarters of Nassarawa LGA, which claimed the life of an innocent young boy by the alleged supporters of a candidate seeking election for the House of Representatives, was not only dangerous to the lives of Kano citizens but also uncalled for.
Likewise, the killings and burning of innocent souls at Tudun wada local government area of the state was another very terrible episode that will go down in history as the worst human massacre.
However, some pundits say the postponement of the election by one week would offer an opportunity for tempers to cool off and possibly a window for peace seekers to broker peace between them so that the election would be conducted hitch free.
