All the famous and all the little known angling for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket to the Senate will slog it out today in primaries across the country; from Kano to Cross River, Enugu to Lagos, on to Jigawa, and beyond.
Jitter is the word in the ranks. There is no automatic ticket. The vote can swing anywhere, particularly in favour of those who have done the leg work in their states.
Flaunters of Abuja connections without presence in the grassroots have their gig cut out and may be in for a shock.
Here is a sample from the battleground states:
Benue
The gladiators are all topnotch. Lawrence Onoja, a retired Major General and ally of President Goodluck Jonathan, takes on Senate President, David Mark, in Benue South Senatorial District.
Mark has been in the Senate since 1999 and is seeking a fifth term, for which his Idoma community recently endorsed him.
Onoja contested against him in 2011 under the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), before the party merged with others to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Then, Mark had the advantage of incumbency and won partly because his people wanted him to deliver on his promise of Apa State. But the creation of new states is in the cooler at the moment and will not be a factor in the primaries.
Another contest that may leave the PDP bruised in Benue is the one between Governor Gabriel Suswam and former PDP National Chairman, now Senator Barnabas Gemade, who is vying for a second term.
Gemade has his men firmly entrenched in the party, enough to secure him the ticket. But Suswam has a bigger war chest.
Plateau
The outcome of the primaries may widen the gulf in the PDP.
Former Governor Joshua Dariye, a returnee member of the party, has a waiver to contest for the Plateau Central ticket, against the wishes of Governor Jonah Jang, who wants to become senator himself next year.
Jang’s road to the Senate looks smooth as Senator Gyang Pwajok has stepped down for him in Plateau North.
But Jang, apart from being a senator, wants to continue to play the godfather in Plateau politics. Dariye opposes the idea.
Abia
Former Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament Speaker, Mao Ohuabunwa, said Senator Uche Chukwumerije has outlived his usefulness in the Senate and wants to replace him.
Ohuabunwa, who represented Arochukwu/Ohafia in the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003, said Abia North has not fared better in the past 12 years under Chukwumerije, who is aspiring to a fourth term.
PDP heavyweights in the five councils that make up Abia North have adopted Ohuabunwa as consensus candidate, leaving Chukwumerije in the cold.
In Abia Central, former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, sensing the tide of opposition, abandoned his pursuit for the senatorial seat, paving the way for his bitter rival, Governor Theodore Orji, to get the ticket.
If Orji does, and goes on to win the election in February 2015, he will leave the Governor’s Office after two terms straight for the Senate.
Enugu
The battle of the titans would have been between Governor Sullivan Chime and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
Chime was believed to have the resources to secure the ticket. However, Ekweremadu may pull the rug off his feet, especially as his loyalist, David Aja, is state PDP Chairman.
Chime had the backing of some traditional rulers. But he lost the endorsement of stakeholders from his Udi hometown when Mike Ugwu, a member of the Second Republic House of Representatives, said Ekweremadu is better positioned to serve the people than Chime.
“I am a stakeholder in the PDP in Enugu West and therefore I know everything about the PDP. Ekweremadu has the capacity of being a senator. Sullivan Chime hasn’t got the attribute of what it takes to be a senator,” Ugwu pitched.
But with the news that Chime had stepped down for Ekweremadu on Friday, December 5, the coast is clear for the Deputy Senate President.
Akwa Ibom
Senator Alloysius Etok’s ambition in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial Zone is threatened by Governor Godswill Akpabio, who wants to pivot from Government House in Uyo to the Senate in Abuja.
Etok has vowed not to vacate the seat for Akpabio, claiming that he has outperformed all other Akwa Ibom’s representatives in the National Assembly (NASS).
Also eyeing this same ticket is Inibehe Okoro, a two term governorship aspirant. The former banker believes his chances of beating Akpabio are high because his division has more councils.
“The zone where Akpabio comes from is Ikot Ekpene division. Abak division where I come from is made up of five big local government areas and Akpabio’s section is made up of three local government areas,” he told Vanguard.
But Akpabio insisted that “there is no threat to any senator where the governors of PDP have interest to go to the Senate because I believe that, just like the sky, there is enough space for every bird to fly.
“Politics is about people, and the people’s choice should be allowed to prevail.”
Cross River
The fracas is essentially between Governor Liyel Imoke and Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba.
Imoke has positioned John Owan-Enoh, currently serving his third term in the House of Representatives, to take over the job of Ndoma Egba, his political rival.