Mai Mala Buni. Photo Credit: On March 18, 2023 electorates across the country will be dropping out again in their numbers to cast their votes in the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly election. In the election, eight of the nineteen states in the Northern part of Nigeria will be casting their votes to decide the fates of their state governors and whether to serve the state for another four years or put their first four years' tenures on hold.
In this article, the projection on the likely results of the election would be made and some factors that affect electoral processes in the various states concerned would be critically examined.
1) Adamawa State
First, Governor Fintiri of Adawama State will be running for his second term in Office under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Adamawa is the home state of the presidential candidate of PDP, Atiku Abubakar and he would want to prove his worth by delivering the state in the Governorship election.
However, the contest would not go unchecked by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aishatu Binanai.
Although, the election in the Christian-dominated region of Adamawa state would be keenly contested as candidates of the two dominant parties have decided to pick Christian running mates unlike in the past election.
Above all, Governor Fintiri of the PDP has a better chance of being returned while the political cliques of Nuhu Ribadu and Aishatu Binani have a lot of work to do in unison if they would want to checkmate the chances of Governor Fintiri.
2) Bauchi State
Governor Bala Muhammed of the PDP will be running for his second term in Office while Muhammed Jatau of APC will be checkmating.
The chances of Governor Bala to return would be complemented by the crisis rocking the APC in the state. Besides, there may be reprisal votes in the camp of the APC as some members of the party who cast their votes against the party during the presidential election are now out, campaigning for the APC governorship candidate. This might be seen as a strength but in reality, it is a threat to the chances of APC.
Governor Bala may ride on the infighting within APC and tow a clear path to victory for his second chance. For APC to win in Bauchi State, the crisis rocking the party must be settled and if this could be done, PDP may be considered going in the state recall that APC has widespread popularity in the state but their major obstacle is the crisis they have not been able to manage since the 2019 election.
3) Borno State
Governor Babangana Zulum is running for a second term in Office and he is being projected to win, conveniently. He has delivered dividends of democracy to the nooks and cradles of Borno State and he belongs to the most prominent political class in the state.
Without wasting much time, Zulum seems to be facing less opposition in his reelection bid as the Executive Governor of Borno State for the second term. However, PDP will certainly give a fight which may not be enough to cost Governor Zulum.
4) Gombe State
Governor Muhammed Yahaya of APC and Muhammad Barde of PDP will be dragging the governorship seat of the state on March 18, 2023, and definitely, one of them will be elected.
PDP is dealing with the post-primary election crisis in Gombe State and the fact that PDP won the presidential election in the state could not be taken as an irreversible chance for the party. This is because the presidential election was more influenced by regional factors than what will happen during the governorship election.
Governor Yahaya may be returned but the chances of the PDP candidate could not be underrated.
5) Kwara State
Kwara State Governor AbdulRazaq Abdulrahman of APC will be going to poll against Shuaib Yaman Abdullahi of PDP who is being backed by the former Senate President of Nigeria, Bukola Saraki.
Governor Abdulrazak seems to have paid his due and he is positioned to win the governorship election by a margin. The people of Kwara State seem to be tired of Saraki's political hegemony and the performance of Abdulrasaq is okay with them.
AbdulRazaq enjoys the support of both the street and the established political classes in the state. The crisis within his party seems to have been contained and he is bound to win the governorship election in the state.
6) Nasarawa State
Mr. Emmanuel Umbugadu of the PDP could be out to stop Governor Abdullahi Sule's second term reelection as the Executive Governor of Nasawara State.
The Nasarawa state chapter of APac is in severe political trouble amidst strong opposition. Governor Sule was alleged to have worked against APC at the presidential election and the other faction of his party vowing to pay him back heavily. Unfortunately, while facing a divided house, the candidate of the Labour Party who won the state during the presidential election has withdrawn from the race to support the candidate of the PDP.
The high presence of the Igbo population in Nasarawa State, as a result of overflow from Abuja, highly favored Labour Party in the state during the presidential primary and this will add up for the PDP governorship candidate who is now gaining support from the Labour Party.
Wonder may need to occur if Governor Sule wants to be reelected as the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State.
7) Yobe State
The result of the presidential election in Yobe State was shocking because the state is known to be a die-hard progressive state. However, the influence of regional politics might not be underrated, and the result of the governorship election still promises to be different.
Regardless of the presidential result in Yobe State, APC is still a party to beat at the governorship election in the state.
8) Zamfara State
Zamfara State is considerably a no-go area for any other political party except APC. Even though PDP claims it got more votes in the state during the presidential election than the recorded score, Governor Matawalle will have a scale through.
Although during the presidential election, APC lost on average in most of the urban areas in the state the fact is that the political establishment in Zamfara State seems to have queued behind Matawalle and he is bided to maintain his superiority through votes coming from the rural.
Category: Forum
Tag: 2023 governorship election adamawa news bauchi news borno news gombe news kwara news nasarawa news yobe news ZAMFARA news
Written by Ejiro Hassan (ejiro)
Published 3/11/2023 10:13:17 AM