Who gets Gombe APC ticket?

Four aspirants-Habiu Muazu, Inuwa Yahaya, Abdullahi Umar and Ahmed Mailantarki–are struggling for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State. Who gets the ticket? Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the chances of the contenders at the shadow poll.

THE governorship primary is gathering momentum in Gombe State. The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are warming up for the exercise.

PDP has four aspirants. They include Jamil Ishyaka, Bello Bala Azare, Alhjaji Ahmed Walama,Hassan Mohammed,and Bello Bala Tinka. They are pushing for a government of continuity.

APC has five aspirants. For them, the race is not a do or die affair. According to the party, they have resolved to work with the winner at the primary. The resolution is important because during the 2015 primary, some aspirants worked against the APC.

 Umar Bamusa.

A young and dynamic politician, Bamusa is popular. His nick name is “moving train.” He is a defector from the PDP. When he left the PDP, many of his followers also called it quits with the platform. His generosity is well known. He is perceived as a croud puller. A section of the party believes that he has the backing of former Governor Danjuma Goje.

Bamusa has visited  114 electoral wards across  11 Local Government Areas. During the recent Sallah celebrations, he allegedly dolled out N40 million to party faithful.

Exuding confidence, he has described himself as the candidate to beat. But, he urged the contenders to maintain a bond of unity so that APC can be victorious at the poll. “I am a founding member of the PDP. Also, I was a strong financier of the CPC in Gombe State. I have built   political bridges within and outside my party.”

“Our primary focus now is to ensure that we go to the primary successfully and we go to the field. I enjoy a lot of public support and I am very confident that if the APC can trust me with their mandate, Gombe people will trust me with their mandate to govern the state.,” he said.

The weakness of the aspirant is that he he has not held any public office before.

  Inuwa Yahaya:

Yahaya was the APC flag bearer in 2015. His acceptability cuts across the three senatorial districts. Many believe he has the financial clout to wrestle power from the PDP.But his greatest challenge is that most people consider his family as”settlers” in Gombe State, and they are attributed his defeat to the “settler”status. Also, he does not seem to enjoy the support of the traditional institution.

But, Yahaya, a former Commissioner for Finance, is determined. He is a courageous politican. He recently donated 15 vehicles to top party leaders. He also gave out 125 motorcycles to local government  chairmen and secretaries of the party across 114 wards.

 Habu Muazu:

Habu Muazu, popularly known as Yeriman Kashere, (Prince of Kashere) ,is a strong and powerful politician. He is a former  influential youth leader of the PDP and campaign coordinator of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the Northeast. His bid is being supported by many party leaders.

Analysts belive that understands the political terrain, having lived all his life in Gombe and contributed immensely to the electoral victories og the PDp in the past.

Idris  Umar

Senator Idris Abdullahi Umar represented Gombe Central in the Senate between 2007 and 2011. He is a former Minister of Transport. He s President Jonathan.

Many believe that he has ben operating on the fringe in the APC. He has the financial muscle. But, he is not influential in the party. However, he is close to Senator Goje.

Khamisu Mailantarki

Mailantarki, a former member of the National Assembly, represented Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Constituency, is a promising politician.

He is perceived as a light weight. He does not have a formidable structure. To the PDP, he is not a threat.

But, some observers have said that other contenders can only underrate him to their peril. He is a loyalist of President Mohammadu Buhari. He has the record of not defecting from the opposition since the days of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). He led Gombe opposition parties into merger talks to form the APC.