Recalled that the party surrendered it strong grip on the state at the last general elections, losing the state governorship election and managed to secure one, out of the three Senatorial seats and a paltry three House of Representatives seat losing eight to the opposition APC.
Lull is the atmosphere around the party magnificent secretariat along the ever busy Ahmadu Bello way in the heart of the city since, its monumental loss at the poll, necessitating the question, whither the fortuñe of the party?
Can the out going state governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, now Senator -Elect and automatically the party leader in the state alongside the three green-horn elected federal lawmakers and ten out of the thirty state assembly elected lawmakers provide, maintain and sustain the party as opposition in the state, for the next four year?
To keen political watchers of Sokoto politics, one of the albatross of PDP was the neglect of the grassroots administration described as unprecedented in the history of the state.
An analyst, Abdullahi Ilella, in retrospect said, “Indeed, the destruction of the local governments administration and the virtual collapse of the entire State Government Civil Service system, are only a few, of the reasons, that brought about PDP downfall in Sokoto state.
“Coincidentally, towards the election period, a greater percentage of the Sokoto State Civil Servants could not access their February salary, reason for this, I cannot ascertain. Just as the monthly impress for Ministry in the State has become history for long.”
The state Commissioner of Finance, Dr Ali Inname, setting the record straight explained that, out of the total 35,320 civil servants in the state, only 1,054 had issues with their February salaries.
The commissioner described a statement credited to some civil servants claiming that about 10,000 government employees could not receive their February salary, as false, malicious and misleading.
According to Dr Inname, the reason for the slight delay in the payment of February salary was the challenges experienced by some banks where the salary of a portion of the state staff were being paid. He gave the breakdown of this as, 736 in GTBank while 323 are with the other banks.
However, the challenges has since been resolved and the workers salary payments is running hitch free.
Significantly, PDP loss of Sokoto state is much more worrisome with her concurrent loss of the administration of grassroots governance in the state, with the tenure of elected local government councils chairmen terminating a month to the change of baton in the state.
Not to leave a vacuum or create a lacuna, Governor Tambuwal summarily extend the stay of the twenty three elected chairmen in office as appointed caretakers, leaving their fates to be determined by the incoming administration.
Their appointment which takes effect from 11th April, 2023, according to a statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Abdullahi Ahmed stated, “consequent to the expiration of tenure of local government councils as provided under Local Government (Amendment) Law No. 6 of 2016, the state Governor has approved the appointment of the following as Caretaker Committee Chairmen for the 23 local government areas pending the conduct of the Local Government election.
“In the same vein, the state Governor has also approved the reconstitution of the Caretaker Councillors for the 23 local government areas, the appointments of which will be formalized in due course,” the SSG explained.
Coming from a political background mentored by a former governor, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko the Governor -Elect , Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto has garnered the requisite administrative and political experience to strengthen his capacity for the task associated with the office of the governor.
He won landslide in the March 18 guber to emerge victorious at the poll against his arch rival of the PDP , Sa’idu Umar Ubandoma.
Aliyu Sokoto rose through the political ladder from the local government level to the state level after holding various offices including the office of the state deputy governor to sitting governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal before voluntarily resigning based on principle.
He contested in 2019 but failed to realize his dream after loosing to Tambuwal who took the day with a margin of 342 following a Supreme Court judgement .
Besides, Aliyu Sokoto, believed to be conversant with the socio-economic and political environment in the caliphate , the yearnings and aspirations of his people , thus would not fail to focus on a responsive blue print that would enable him square up along with the need to pick able and tested technocrats that would further the course of the state and project it in positive light of development.
This, underscores his dream of unveiling the already planned 9-point agenda to reposition the state to rank among others for prosperity.
The agenda has among others Local Government Autonomy, Civil Servants Welfare, Education, Health, Infrastructural development, Water Supply, Agriculture, Religious Affairs, Women and Youth empowerment towards restoring the lost glory of the state.
However, as he prepares to takeover the mantle of leadership, his party which has multiple political technocrats and seasoned administrators of repute had since mapped out its 108 transition committee members to smoothly drive a successful hand over process to logical conclusion ahead of the May 29th day.
Going by the think tank committee members , it will be difficult to fashion out who makes what in the first four years of his government.
However, expectations are high that the governor -elect might passionately elevate the status of youth and women participation in governance.
