Niger governor’s secret deal with Babangida’s son - 234NEXT.COM

By Olu Jacob

In order to secure the support of former president Ibrahim Babangida for his second term bid, Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has reportedly promised to help Mohammed, the former president’s son, to succeed him in 2015, NEXT has learnt.

Mr Aliyu, who is a cousin of Mr Babangida has also contacted Mohammed’s two sisters, Aisha Shinkafi who is married to the governor of Zamfara State, and Halima, the last child, to seek their support for his re-election. Aminu Babangida who is the second son is said to be largely unavailable because he mostly lives abroad.

Sources say although the former military President has not made any public comments in support of Mr Aliyu’s candidacy, Mohammed’s siblings have began in various ways to campaign for the incumbent who is the PDP candidate in tomorrow’s election.

Halima is reportedly more excited by the idea of her brother becoming the state governor in four year’s time and has taken the matter to heart, campaigning a little more vigorously for Mr Aliyu’s reelection. On the eve of the gubernatorial election yesterday, she met with some opinion leaders in Zone C, which is overwhelmingly a CPC stronghold, to convince them of the merits of voting back the governor.

Our source said she made the argument that it is better for the incumbent to get a second term than allowing anyone else from another zone to win the polls which might deny the zone their chance for another eight years.

Our turn

The governor has been eager to reverse the tide of opposition against the PDP in the zone. The first non PDP senator in the state emerged from the zone during the parliamentary election, and the people voted en masse for Muhammadu Buhari two Saturdays ago.

Mrs Shinkafi has also made phone calls to many opinion moulders, urging them to support Mr Aliyu’s bid.

The Babangida children have for the most part lived in Minna, but their father’s birthplace is Wushishi which falls under zone C. According to the PDP zoning arrangement in the state, the zone is billed to produce the next governor of the state after the tenure of the incumbent who hails from zone B.

Sources say Mohammed has since gone to Wushishi to acquire a PDP membership card so that he would be well placed to launch his campaign from there at the appropriate time.

Uneasy friendship

The governor who assumed office in 2007 has had an uneasy relationship with retired General Babangida whom he had on more than one occasion traduced in the media. He once suggested that Mr Babangida’s tenure as president contributed to the backwardness of the north.

The governor has never shown the former president the kind of fawning adoration he got from the previous governor of the state, Abdullahi Abdulkhadir Kure, who treated the Babangidas like royalty. Unlike Mr. Kure who got the job partly as a result of the support of Mr Babangida, Mr Aliyu, a lifelong bureaucrat owed his position to the patronage of Olusegun Obasanjo who was then Nigeria’s president.

Mr. Babangida had preferred another candidate, Muhammadu Gunna, who won a controversial PDP governorship primary but couldn’t contest in the election because he was under investigation by the EFCC for money laundering.

The overtures

However, as the governorship election approached the governor’s popularity waned, no thanks to a series of unkept promises and the Buhari phenomenon which engulfed most of the north. His confidence of winning the polls nosedived when in two successive elections he lost in his polling unit.

Since then, the governor has sent emissaries to all those with whom he has had a falling out. About a week ago, he sent delegates to meet with the former governor, Mr Kure, to ask for his forgiveness. The emissaries reportedly quoted copiously from the Quran to convince the former governor on the vitues of forgiveness.

A source who was at the uphill mansion of the former president two months ago, said Akeem Afebua who is Mr Babangida’s spokesperson had walked in to ask Mr. Mohammed when he intends to begin his campaigns.

According to this source, Mr Mohammed had chuckled, but another friend from the INEC office who was there said, “we are making preparations. We already have a warehouse of campaign material.’’

When NEXT contacted Mr Afegbua, he denied that there is such a deal.

“You must know that the governor and the General are cousins. And in what way has Mohammed campaigned for the governor? Has he said anything publicly?’’

Reminded of the comment he made on the day he came to visit, Mr. Afegbua said: “I was just joking.’’

Source: 234next.com