Architect Audu Sule Katagum is the Deputy Governor of Bauchi state. In this interview with BODE GBADEBO, he bares his mind on the controversies surrounding the last governorship primaries in the state and the chances of the APC at the 2019 elections.



Recently, There has been a reconciliatory move by the national headquarters of the APC on the contentious primaries that took place in Bauchi. We want to know whether these issues have been resolved and if not, what is the government doing to stop possible implosion in the party?

First and foremost, I don’t really think there was any contention to the primaries as far as Bauchi state is concerned. Of course, for any election that you need, one person will only be the winner and on such cases, the loser will not agree because everybody wants to be a winner. Now, with regards to Bauchi primary election of the APC elective seats, we all know initially that, what the stakeholders of APC here in Bauchi wanted, was indirect primaries but at the end of the day, we had to talk to the leadership of the party at the national level and we conducted election as they directed us to do. In most cases all over the state we had to conduct election very late, in the evening and night in some cases and at the end of it, as far as the government is concerned, the rightful people won the tickets. For example, there were three other contestants for the governorship ticket and at the end of the day, there was no doubt His Excellency won. After the election, of course, there were a lot of issues including decamping. Some people decided to go to court but the government immediately set up a reconciliatory committee that sat down some of these people who lost out in the election and I believe we were able to convince more than half of them to understand the situation that only God gives whom he pleases. Some agreed to that, some wanted refund of their money while some wanted some other incentives from the government and I am happy to let you know that a lot of issues have been resolved. Some came back and agree to

assist the party while some decided to leave the party. We wish them well and we will face them in the general elections.



There are three prominent members of the party who are contesting the outcome of the party’s governorship primaries. Don’t you think that not reconciling with them mayt affect APC’s chances at the polls?

No. If you look at the primaries, the votes that were garnered by his excellency, the governor of Bauchi, was the highest. The three aspirants did not get more than one per cent of what the governor got. So, with regards to them becoming some sort of stumbling blocks to the governor’s chances, I don’t think so. In the first place, they failed to realise that the people of Bauchi state themselves are happy with their current governor and this issue of the primaries were conducted everywhere in Bauchi state fair and free. Like I told you earlier, the stakeholders of APC in Bauchi have chosen to do it by indirect mode as recommended by constitution of the party but a day before the exercise, we got a directive from the party headquarters in Abuja that we should do it using ballot boxes and the instruction given by the headquarters was that, if the committee that was to conduct the election comes, they should not even see the governor, because they don’t want any situation whereby the committee might be compromised by the state government and this was accepted by the governor. In fact, when the committee came and wanted to see him, he said ‘don’t see me, call all the other contenders let us sit down four of us’. And this was what happened. The people who were contesting the governorship also insisted that a certain group of people should conduct the election, that is the National Union of Teachers, which the governor conceded. The election materials were brought to Bauchi. All the contenders had their agents at the election office in Bauchi, they all verified that the election materials were not tampered with and each local government had agents of each aspirants, who escorted the same materials to each local government. So at the local governments, again they had their representatives, everybody saw what was brought in and at the end of the counting, nobody said anything. The governor garnered 75,000 votes while the highest among the rest was about 7,000 or 6,000. So if you look at the figures, I don’t think they will say they can constitute any hurdle to our re-election. We are just praying that they will come back and see reasons. People elected this governor in 2015 because they know what he was going to do and he has delivered on the promises he made to the electorate.



One of the states that Apc is banking on to win the presidential election is Bauchi State. do you think the APC and President Buhari still have that kind of support they onced enjoyed?

Look! Mr President is probably one individual that nobody can say something bad about him. As far as the general populace is concerned, especially in the North, nobody is blaming Buhari on what has happened. If you look at what has been happening all over Nigeria, nobody is saying it is the president who has done this. Honestly, all elections in Bauchi since 1999 have always been since he started

contesting election in 2003, Bauchi state is probably the state after Kano state that gives Buhari the highest votes and nothing has changed. I will show you, go into the towns, villages and talk of Buhari, he is the same, he is in the hearts of the people, nobody can change that, nobody can change that perception people have about him, especially in the North. This is a man of integrity, this is the man that we need to continue our leadership. So we clearly understand that what has happened in the primaries will not affect election of Mr President or thinking pattern or love the people of Bauchi have for him.



There is plan by the governor to give interest-free loans to small-scale business owners but some people believe it is a votes-buying plot. What is your take?

My take is that I don’t think the government want to use this as a political leverage and I don’t think His Excellency the governor of Bauchi state needs to do that. Like I said earlier, even from the primary election, we are going to be honest with ourselves, the governor has already made his mark in Bauchi, he has already proved that he is governor of the masses. Now on this issue of loan, this did not start with this administration, because the last government also gave such loans to business men and small market people in Bauchi and this offer actually came in as early as two years ago. The market people asked the governor for this kind of loan because Bauchi as you know we call it a civil service state and how do you improve economic activities or industry? They were able to present

their case to the governor as far back as two years ago but that time the governor told them ‘look, I don’t have the resources but I assure you we will look at it carefully and then by the time we are sure that it is going to be of economic interest, of course, we want to help all the marketers’. Now, every business man in Bauchi is benefiting from this loan. So, it is something that has been ongoing and this is the time that the government realise we can afford to do this right now and this is why it is coming right now. If you say it is a political move, I think whatever one does now till election will be considered a political move and I think it’s not really a bad idea to support the government to be re-elected to continue doing what we are doing now.



Bauchi state has been relatively peaceful under this administration. What is your magic wand regarding security?

Governor Mohammed Abubakar has a good relationship with the service chiefs in the state. Security is a major priority to this administration, he is always on top of things and there is a beautiful synergy between this government and the Police, Army and the Civil Defence Corps. So this good relationship has translated into a working cooperation. The governor is accessible to the service chiefs in the state to come to him any time there is any issue that requires attention. That is just the template and of course, he has been taking care of them.

http://mcebiscoo.com/2018/12/07/bauchi-people-will-vote-massively-for-pmb-katagum/

May be they've settled him just like they settled Father Mbaka

Story

TRUE TALK.

Definitely, not only Bauchi State, but every nook and crannies all over the federation, where hardworking, honest and sane Nigerians live.

Sai Baba, The ONLY man for the job.

Let's go there....... FeBuhari 17th 2019

K

Bauchi is always for buhari Only Buhari you and the governor will be sent packing

Feather weight politician talking like GOD

Nackzy:
May be they've settled him just like they settled Father Mbaka

You are naive. True Loyalty cannot be bought. You actually think that because of a crook like Atiku and his campaign DG who is also a crook (Saraki) people would suddenly turn their backs against Buhari?

2019 is a year of retirements for PDP fraudulent elements

Interesting stuff.

Personally, I just feel it's sad. The situation is a grave one.

How in the world can a select few, determine that the cause of suffering of millions should remain (usually with a potential to weild even greater suffering)? . . . And have their say over and on behalf of the masses . . . !

This case is not peculiar to Bauchi. It's a narrative that's present nationwide and seems to have come to stay. I mean, what then is the function of elections? To present as a report card to international agencies and foreign countries so these despotic leaders can be granted passage to their countries for shopping sprees and medical vacays?

I'm just certain that this can't last forever.

If Sanni Abacha's regime could end at its prime, in the blink of an eye, this too shall pass away.

How this one take concern my hungry stomach. Tired of APC

Anyone that thinks PMB can lose any northern state has the foresight of a dying bat. The reasons are clear for all to see.

Sai Mai Gaskiya! Sai Mai Amana!

Sai Baba till 2023!

QuotaSystem:
To put it plainly, apart from Taraba, Benue, Plateau & Nassarawa States, President Muhammadu Buhari is poised to sweep the votes of the remaining 15 northern states, for the following reasons:

1. The "Amana" factor.

A lot of southerners often wonder the basis of the cult-like following PMB commands in the North - the reason is not far fetched.

The Hausa-fulani people in particular, place a huge value on the concept of "Amana" (trust/to hold in trust), a value which Buhari's track record of integrity (whether disputed or not) is clearly aligned with. Despite media propaganda, most of these people who are more politically informed than their average southern counterparts, are aware that not a single charge of corruption has stuck on their revered PMB, amidst corruption allegations among his cronies. Atiku loses massively in this respect because of his track record of corruption (BPE, Haliburton, $16b power scam, unexplained source of wealth etc.) which presents him as an untrustworthy leader to most northerners.

Furthermore, PMB's seemingly north-centric agenda regarding appointments, infrastructure projects (roads, rails, ports) and focus on agriculture assures most northerners that their interests would be well protected under his administration, in contrast to Atiku who is perceived to be likely to make concessions and appeasements to the East whose support he is mostly riding on going by recent trends. Atiku also loses big in this regard.

2. The South Eastern VP Factor

If Atiku gives in to the clamor for his running mate to emerge from the East, then he stands to lose massive votes from the core north for obvious reasons.

Firstly, the deep political antagonism and anti-north stance from Igbos, which has characterized the national space and been amplified since the defeat of Jonathan and rise of IPOB/Nnamdi Kanu and their hate speech, will deeply hurt Atiku's chances because not only will it mean the North would be taking the extreme bigotry, insults and political antagonism from the East right on the chin with no consequences, it would also mean the possibility of an Igbo successor to Atiku - a people known for their contempt for Nigeria's unity and secessionist aspirations.

In addition, a SE VP will also cost Atiku significant SW votes - a sub-region with the second largest number of registered voters (14 million).

3. The Boko Haram Factor

In sharp contrast to the generally held notion among some in the south that Atiku would sweep the NE because it's his home region, the strides recorded by PMB in the fight against Boko Haram heavily neutralizes that effect. I am not talking about social media noise, but the perceptions of people directly affected by Boko Haram activities and are experiencing a gradual return to normalcy since PMB took office.

Yola (Adamawa) for example, Atiku's own home capital, has experienced peace since PMB's onslaught on BH like they never saw since Boko Haram emerged under the past PDP administration - this was formerly a ghost town that used to suffer deadly BH attacks daily with dusk-till-dawn curfews, which has since been lifted and attacks reduced to suicide bombings and guerrilla attacks on soft targets, which are reducing on a monthly basis. This was a state that had several LGA's under Boko Haram's rule during PDP's administration and the people aren't quick to forget the corruption that marred the fight against BH in Dasuki fashion.

Maiduguri is back to it's bustling state with dozens of NGO's providing humanitarian services to help with the ongoing rebuilding efforts, people are now free to watch El-Kanem FC matches in the township stadium, and trans-border economic trade (mostly fish) is gradually being restored. The return of the Chibok and Dapchi girls also adds points to PMB's profile in the sub-region. If by God's grace the FG is able to secure the release of Leah Sharibu then that would be a hat-trick. I personally spoke to a "Kube" (traditional hausa cap) dealer from Borno recently and these were the exact sentiments he expressed as he professed support for Buhari's candidacy.

Final Note

It is very valid to permute that the votes from the 4 excluded northern states (Benue, Plateau, Nassarawa, Taraba) will be shared by both candidates as federal might will play out (both parties will rig anyway). With 19 million registered voters in the North West and 10 million in the North East which are largely homogenic, it is safe to say anyone who loses these key regions has lost the 2019 elections. With another 14 million registered voters in the SW which is APC's stronghold and Atiku's slant towards choosing a SE VP, his campaign team should be very worried.

Note that this is not to say Atiku will not record a sizable number of votes from the Northern States, but the ratio will pale in significance to Buhari's potential landslide victory in the region. - Q.S

Lol





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aboki get brain? just direct them like cows to do anything and they will do it.....

TheGreenLand:
TRUE TALK.

Definitely, not only Bauchi State, but every nook and crannies all over the federation, where hardworking, honest and sane Nigerians live.

Sai Baba, The ONLY man for the job.

Let's go there....... FeBuhari 17th 2019

The height of lunacy is expecting northerners to vote Atiku after he referred to their revered Buhari as a "clone and impostor", echoing the words of Nnamdi Cownu.

Arewa already knows Atiku is IPOB's candidate and will vote accordingly

abjisperson:
aboki get brain? just direct them like cows to do anything and they will do it.....

You mean like bowing and sipping Nnamdi Kanu's urine despite being worth less than his dog Jack to him?

Even late Jack the ipob dog cannot be so sheepishly brainless.

TheGreenLand:
TRUE TALK.

...hardworking, honest and sane Nigerians live.

Get real, man.
If you were any of the above, you will not even get close to his twitter handle for any reason.
You're hardworking and you believe in the fruits of your labour and you endorse a man who has no reasonable/realistic fruit to show despite wielding control (as we are led to believe) over millions of Nigerians?
You're honest and despite knowing all about Buhari and his associates and affiliates from Day 1, you believe this man is the best choice of over 40+ candidates?
You are sane and you're lining up behind a man (at the helms of affairs) responsible for the most tumultuous year known to the average Nigerian since democracy?

English ain't our mother tongue but let's not abuse it; I think the real hardworking, honest and sane people in Nigeria are not lining up behind either Buhari or Atiku come 2019. I think they never did. I think you should stop rubbing ashes on their nature too.

Empty barel makes the loudest noise
Atiku is one


Buhari till 2023

i always wonder how people feel Atiku will be a threat to Buhari in the North. The Name Buhari rings a bell to thise guys that even their kids know Buhari by name. Atiku defeating Buhari in the Core north is difficult. Even Kwankwaso is more popular than Atiku.

NB: If you're not from the North and you don't understand northern politics, don't quote me.

TheGreenLand:
TRUE TALK.

Definitely, not only Bauchi State, but every nook and crannies all over the federation, where hardworking, honest and sane Nigerians live.

Sai Baba, The ONLY man for the job.

Let's go there....... FeBuhari 17th 2019

You're totally on your own.

ObservantFellow:


Get real, man.
If you were any of the above, you will not even get close to his twitter handle for any reason.
You're hardworking and you believe in the fruits of your labour and you endorse a man who has no reasonable/realistic fruit to show despite wielding control (as we are led to believe) over millions of Nigerians?
You're honest and despite knowing all about Buhari and his associates and affiliates from Day 1, you believe this man is the best choice of over 40+ candidates?
You are sane and you're lining up behind a man (at the helms of affairs) responsible for the most tumultuous year known to the average Nigerian since democracy?

English ain't our mother tongue but let's not abuse it; I think the real hardworking, honest and sane people in Nigeria are not lining up behind either Buhari or Atiku come 2019. I think they never did. I think you should stop rubbing ashes on their nature too.

You need to shut up.

Buhari isn't responsible for nothing. PDP set us on this course well before buhari came onboard.

In fact if not that Buhari came onboard when he did, we would have ended up like Venezuela with the way PDP fraudulent elements were sucking away on the brèasts of Nigeria and looting our Commonwealth with impunity so much so that even in a time of plenty our external reserves fell to a shameful $27b.

That was even when majorly one ineffectual buffoon was in their midst.

Now we have a mass gathering of thieves wanting to return to power. From Atiku to saraki to dino melaye, to bode George, etc

Even Okonjo Iweala openly wept for Nigeria over how PDP drained and left her and she declared that Buhari was not responsible for our state and that PDP should be held accountable.

Common sense may not be your strong side but you can still endeavour to work on that weakness of yours

Trustee1:

You're totally on your own.

I am with TheGreenLand

Trustee1:

You're totally on your own.

Before nko?!
Only sane people agree with me...not people that their brain are cloned!

TheGreenLand:

Before nko?!
Only sane people agree with me...not people that their brain are cloned!

You mean "insane"?

Trustee1:

You're totally on your own.

You're a liar. I am with TheGreenland too.

He is not and will NEVER be totally on his own.

Buterflyle0:


You are naive. True Loyalty cannot be bought. You actually think that because of a crook like Atiku and his campaign DG who is also a crook (Saraki) people would suddenly turn their backs against Buhari?

2019 is a year of retirements for PDP fraudulent elements

Hehehehe this ranting won't stop the imminent victory of Pdp next year.

Buhari has sufficiently demobilized citizens and his now Left with only buharideens!

Buterflyle0:


I am with TheGreenLand

Ya you should. Just like kanye said "slavery is a choice".

QuotaSystem:


You mean like bowing and sipping Nnamdi Kanu's urine despite being worth less than his dog Jack to him?

Even late Jack the ipob dog cannot be so sheepishly brainless.

Chai!!!
Total knockout of the YEAR!!