Jos North/Bassa Constituency Re-run: The Serious, Less Serious And Unserious Contenders
Following the sudden death of the member representing Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Haruna Maitala Jingre, aspirants across party lines covertly and overtly have been expressing interest in either way or the other. Plateau Chronicle gathered about 10 contenders will be vying for the seat in the by-elections that would be conducted by Nigeria’s election umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
It would be recalled that Maitala who was elected in March 2019 died last April along Jos-Abuja road.
Plateau Chronicle observed that despite a large number of aspirants, there are some who do not have the capacity, strength, financial wherewithal and popularity among other weaknesses that might serve as a hurdle to them. Our editor, Garba Muhammad Mahdi, x-rayed them in this report. Those with chances of winning the bye-elections are described as the contenders, those with lesser as jokers while possible aspirants that are yet to publicly declare their ambition as pretenders.
THE CONTENDERS
Ibrahim Baba Hassan
The member representing Jos North-North at the Plateau State House of Assembly, Ibrahim Baba Hassan is one of the leading aspirants in the by-elections. He was a former deputy speaker of the Assembly. The politician whose father is a real estate mogul with properties in Jos and Abuja and accomplished transporter is a member of the All Progressive Congress. A source said that Babs as he is fondly addressed has the intention to replace Haruna Maitala since he has harboured the ambition of occupying the seat for a while. But the source said Babs bottleneck could only be how to finance the election.
But other sources said that Alhaji Baba Kwalkwala, Hassan’s father has been supporting his political ambition since when he ventured in and firmly believe that his affluent father will fund the campaign. A second source said that when he was dragged to court by an aspirant, of his seat in 2019, Abdulnasir Saleh to court questioning the credibility of his diploma result from the University of Jos, his father stood by him till he emerged victorious at the Supreme Court when a Federal High Court sacked him for certificate forgery.
This was despite the university’s Registrar, Monday Danjem’s dismissal of Babs certificate.
Among the contenders, Babs has the most experience as a lawmaker and has a clear understanding of the grassroots and what they want. The aspirant’s cordial relation with the Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, might also be another plus for him.
He holds degrees in Business Management, Criminology and Security Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies, an area he is currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Jos.
Abdulmajid Waziri
Waziri, a graduate of Water Resources and Environmental Environmental Engineering from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and seems to be the youngest among the aspirants. The 2019 General elections was his first gig as a politician yet he had 3,052 votes and the third after late Haruna Maitala and Jonathan Dabo. Though a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Waziri has a political movement tagged ‘Manufarmu, Al’ummarmu’, which could roughly be translated as ‘Our vision, Our People’ and peopled by mostly youths.
In 2019, his manifesto was unambiguous as he clearly stated that the areas he would give attention should he be elected are peacebuilding, Jos city expansion, socioeconomic development, healthcare delivery, youth empowerment and educational development through effective and purposeful representation, according to his manifesto 2019.
Engr. Abdulmajid L.S. Waziri, who is in his late thirties might have a bright profile but funding might also become a serious problem for him as the aspirant is a teacher and lacks any political godfather.
THE JOKERS
Alhaji Bashir Ibrahim Wadan-Kawu
Born on March 25, 1974, Wadan-Kawu is a businessman and stakeholder at Wada Autos, an Abuja-based automobile company. Little is known about the member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Plateau State and this cannot be unconnected about his non-participation in grassroots politics. In 2019, he vied for the seat under the platform of the APC but was defeated by the late Haruna Maitala at the party primaries.
In 2016, his company Wada Autos Limited was fingered in the $2.1 billion arms deal by the presidential committee headed by AVM JON Ode. According to reports from the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), the automobile firm collected a share of the loot from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Lt. Col. Sambo Dasuki. This might be one of the reasons why he failed the last party primaries.
Barely two weeks after the death of the member representing the constituency, posters of Wadan-Kawu flooded the internet, a development that had attracted him harsh criticism from netizens.
Gwani Muhammad Adam Alkali
Alkali who holds a national honour of the Order of the Niger (OON), was a member of the Solomon Lar-led Presidential Advisory Committee on Jos Crisis in 2010 which was formed by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He is a philanthropist and a PDP loyalist whose family house was razed down following “an uncomplimentary remark” during a radio programme on Unity FM Jos in the build-up to the 2015 General elections. Alkali also known as Dan London amongst his cheerleaders has since defected to the ruling APC.
Insiders say Alkali is now not financially buoyant as he was, a reason many think funding the campaign would be a herculean task to him. Alkali’s educational qualifications are also sketchy.
Alhaji Danladi Pasali
An astute politician and business mogul, Pasali is the immediate past Chairman of the Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO). He is a unionist through the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), where he is now the National Secretary of the body.
Late last year, Pasali was suspended by the BCO over allegations of abuse of office, corruption, high-handedness and breach of the agreement signed with the organization when he was appointed in May 2017. This scandal might be a minus to his ambition too.
Suleiman Yahaya Kwande
An immediate former occupant of the seat he is aspiring to reoccupy, it is possible that Suleiman, son of Ambassador Yahaya Kwande would want to correct the mistakes he had done while in office. While at the House of Representatives, Kwande who is now a board member of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has not achieved so much in taking the yearnings of his constituents to the floor of the Green Chamber.
He was once listed among the members of the House that have not sponsored any bill in the eight years he spent there.
Kwande who has a flair for sports graduated from the Federal Government College, Maiduguri. He is a member of the APC.
Alhaji Dasuki Salihu Nakande
A one-time state minister of Information and Communication, Nakande is a bonafide member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Chairman Northern Media Broadcast Owners Association (NMBOA) and founder of the Jos-based Unity FM and TV. He was the Deputy General Manager of the defunct Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd (NITEL).
Nakande’s age, distance from the people, row with his staffers at Unity FM and lack of any people-oriented project in Jos during his 16-months sojourn as a minister would pose a serious threat to his ambition even within the APC.
The media magnate who is laso the the oldest of the aspirants is an alumnus of the Kaduna Polytechnic and Lagos Business School.
THE PRETENDERS
Jonathan Dabo
The 58 years old member of the People’s Democratic Party is yet to publicly declare his intention to run for the seat despite being the second in the last elections that saw late Haruna Maitala as the winner. Dabo who hails from Bassa local government area of the State is a former Chairman of the local government area.
In the 2019 General elections, he was late Maitala’s closest rival where he emerged second with total votes of 117,175 being defeated by 1,599 votes. Observers are surprised that Dabo despite this feat in the last polls more than a month after Maitala’s death, is yet to issue any statement regarding his interest in the bye-elections that will be soon scheduled by the INEC.
It is not clear whether Dabo is not interested in the position or he is silent due to paucity of funds.
Alhaji Abubakar Aljumma
Popular through his philanthropism and humanitarian services, Aljumma nicknamed Sadeeq Plaza by his cheerleaders is a police officer with the Police Service Commission. He has currency among the poor and the needy in Bassa and Jos North, the two LGs that made up the constituency.
Following the death of Maitala, his posters with no political party and any relation to the bye-elections began to flood some areas in Jos. Some sources said he has recently resigned from his office to contest for the seat.
Publicly, he is pretending by not making any official comment with regards to the bye-elections. Although the source of his wealth is still a mystery, financing the campaign doesn’t seem to be a problem for him.
Aljumma’s educational qualification and leadership experience are not clear too. He has a close affinity with the APC.
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