PDP Infighting And Radda’s Victory In Katsina

The aftermath of the March 18, 2023 governorship and house of assembly elections has changed the political atmosphere in Katsina State to what analysts described as confidence gradually returning to the electoral system.

They reckoned that the use of technology in the 2023 elections has brought a bit of sanity and credibility to the system, though several issues marred the exercise from the late delivery of materials to the transmission of results, alleged manipulation of figures and announcement of the final result.

But the introduction of the Bimodal Voters’ Accreditation System (BVAS) has indeed improved the system and reduced electoral malpractices that are now seen by many as one of the best innovations so far introduced in the country by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and if improved upon, will guarantee credible and fair elections in the future.

Importantly, the outcome of the governorship and the state assembly elections conducted in Katsina State amazed many who thought the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) after failing to win the state for Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate, would also fail in the governorship poll. However, the party returned to pull a shocking victory in the governorship and state assembly elections.
The APC governorship candidate, Dr Umar Dikko Radda polled a total of 859,892 votes to defeat his closest rival, Senator Yakubu Lado Damarke of the PDP who scored 486,620 votes in the contest. INEC has since announced Dr Radda as the winner of the March election and issued him the certificate of return as governor-elect.

In the same vein, all the APC candidates in the State House Assembly election also won the 34 legislative seats, and have received certificates of return ready to kick-start their legislative functions after swearing-in.
On other hand, some analysts have argued that the outcome of the March 18 poll shouldn’t be seen as a surprise, giving to several factors that came to play within the space of the election which the handwritings were visible to predict the winners.
They also believed that the reorganisation of the APC to capitalise on the division in the main opposition party (the PDP) in the state was well planned and executed to pave way for the deserving victory of the APC candidates in the last election. This was evident by the fact that the PDP had entered the contest with a divided house, realising that a house divided against itself cannot stand more or less succeed in a contest of such magnitude.
To make it clearer, former Governor Ibrahim Shema and his loyalists also allegedly worked against the PDP candidate, Yakubu Lado, at a time he needed their support to reclaim the state from Governor Masari after eight years.
To further worsen the situation, all of Shema’s allies dumped the PDP and moved to the ruling APC at the peak of the election. They were officially received by the governor as they vowed to support and deliver victory to the APC. And of course, they did.
Investigations revealed that an agreement has been reached with the former governor to appoint some of his allies in the next administration under Dr Radda, hence the total collapse of his structure and commitment to APC’s victory.
More so, it will be unwise not to acknowledge the prominent roles of the state governor, Aminu Bello Masari in the contest because he has been instrumental to the triumph of the party and its sustenance at this material time, especially since he wants to hand over the government to someone that would consolidate on his achievements.
Suffice it to say that since the conduct of the presidential election, which had Tinubu losing the state to Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Masari took some drastic decisions that corrected all possible errors responsible for its political woes.
He immediately ordered the sack of a commissioner in the cabinet and some appointees, putting others perceived to have been working against the APC in the state on the watch. Their alliance with the PDP for whatever reason at that moment, according to Masari, betrayed the confidence reposed in them, hence their sack.
Some of those relieved of their appointments, two days after the presidential and national assembly elections, included the commissioner for Works and Housing, Tasi’u Dahiru Dandagoro; the permanent secretary of Sustainable Development, Fatima Ahmed, and her counterpart in the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Aminu Waziri.
The directive which was contained in a statement signed by the secretary to the state government (SSG), Muntari Lawal, Masari also terminated the appointment of the chairman, Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Yusuf Barmo; special adviser to the governor on Girl-Child Education, Child Development, Amina Lawal Dauda; chairman, Governing Board of Katsina State Transport Authority (KTSTA) Bilyaminu Muhammad and the executive director, State Emergency Agency (SEMA), Babangida Muhammed Nasamu.
LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered that other masked betrayers were remaining in the Masari’s government, which intended to work for the PDP’s victory, but the body language of the governor threatened them not to execute their hidden plans.
Again, the alleged undoing of the PDP that is responsible for their defeat during the state polls was the party’s inability to pay over 6,000 agents their election duty entitlements during the presidential poll.
Pundits believed that the party should have itself to blame for its fate despite having greater chances of winning the election but lost out because of the internal issues of mishandling of funds sent from the national body for the elections.
Another aspect that seriously aided the APC in its accomplishment was the resolution reached with the renowned business mogul, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Max Air, Alhaji Dahiru Bara’u Mangal, who at a crucial moment threw his weight behind the candidature of Dr Umar Radda. the election in Katsina State, because of his influence and the political structures he controls in the state. Analysts believed having his blessing in most case