By Dr Kassim Muh’d Kassim
The recent attack on Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule by one Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga a self acclaimed chairman of a faceless group, which referred to itself as “North Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum”, for visiting the National Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, was in bad taste.
In a purported interview credited to him, Zazzaga made a so-called call for an apology from the governor. The said Zazzaga “condemned” Governor Sule, who is the Chairman of the APC North Central Governors’ Forum for “endorsing” the party’s national chiarman.
In the apparently sponsored outing syndicated in selected national newspapers, Zazzaga, acting the script of his pay masters, attempted to weep up emotion and hatred against Governor Sule across the North Central by connecting the visit to the national chairmanship seat struggle and the ongoing agitation to return it back to the zone.
In his desperation and that of his sponsors, Zazzaga also unsuccessfully tried to ignite sentiment in Governor Sule’s home state by pitching him against notable figure like the former National Chairman of our dear party and a father of the state, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and others, even as he veered off the track by bringing the issue of performance into the fray.
Now, how does a visit to the national secretariat of our great party amounted to an endorsement of a man who is already occupying the seat?
What motive does Zazzaga have for quoting Governor Sule out of contest? How does Governor Sule’s speech to the effect that: “I am here also to pay my respect to a man that deserves respect. To our National Chairman, Dr Ganduje. He deserves respect and deserves all the cooperation, especially at a time like this. In the next couple of weeks, we have an election in Edo, so the man does not need to be distracted in any other way so that we can go and win our election in Edo, and that is one of the reasons why I came to encourage him to be focused,’ translated to an endorsement?
But unknown to Zazzaga and his sponsors, Governor Sule was at the national secretariate of the party on a special invitation, as chairman of North Central Governor’s forum to find a solution to resolve the APC crisis in one of the state from the zone, “Benue state ” and he mentioned the elections in Edo because he is the publicity committee chairman for the party’s national campaign in Edo governorship election.
Now, let’s analyze the above statement by Governor Sule based on its content. If he called on stakeholders to rally behind Ganduje to enable the national chairman deliver Edo and Ondo for the party in the forthcoming governorship election in those states, why should someone who has the love of the party in his heart crucified him for that?
It is public knowledge that the governorship election for Edo State was slated for September 21 while that of Ondo is coming up on November 16. If the party’s stakeholders don’t put their houses in order and act collectively now how will it hope to win those states?
From all indications those faulting Governor Sule for calling for the stakeholders’ unity at this crucial time when the polls for the two strategic states are at hand do not mean well for the party and want it to lose. That is why it is imperative to initiate a probe to unmasked those using Zazzaga to further distablise the party because of their parochial interest. I don’t think Zazzaga is from Plateau State because if people like Zazzaga exist yet, we lost Plateau to opposition.
Come to think of it, who is Zazzaga within the party hierarchy to launch such attacks on the person and personality of the Chairman of the North Central Governors’Forum and key stakeholder of the party.
It must be stated here that the offensive against Governor Sule is an assault on the office of the North Central Governors Forum and an attempt to ridicule the party before the public.
But I’m challenging Zazzaga and his desperate sponsors to come to the NEC meeting of the party on the 11th of September to move a motion for the removal of Ganduje if they are serious about their agitation to have Ganduje removed from office, else their affront on Governor Sule deserves a decisive action against the perpetrators.
In it is surprising that despite his make-believe standing as stakeholder of the party in the North Central, Zazzaga is not even abreast with the transformation going in Nasarawa State under Governor Sule.
In his blind hatred and desperation to do the bidding of his pay masters, he failed to or probably ignored the need to do his research well before going public with his falsehood about the state of governance in the Home of Solid Mineral.
Even if he couldn’t take his time to visit the state for a firsthand information about the massive development going on in Nasarawa State, one would have think that as someone who is enlightened, Zazzaga should at listen to news and read the newspapers about what is happening in Nasarawa under Governor Sule.
If anything, the transformation in the solid mineral subsector courtesy of Governor Sule’s insight and resourcefulness, which has endeared the state and the governor to the presidency, should not have escaped Zazzaga ‘s attention. But he chooses to turn blind eyes and rather brook the disdain from the public over his misinformation regarding the situation in Nasarawa.
The state is now exposed to investors and development courtesy of Governor Sule. No one insults Governor Sule and goes free without being challenged by that community for his development strides across the state.
Dr Kassim Muh’d Kassim is the Special Adviser on Political Affairs to the Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule.
