How we avoided militarisation during elections in Niger —Imam, APC chairman

What were the strategies put in place that won the recent elections for your party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in your state?

We give praise to Almighty God and we thank the electorate for voting for APC for the second time to run the affairs of the state for another four years. What we tried to do in the last four years in the state was to tailor our mandate towards the immediate needs of the people. So, we were all over the nooks and crannies of the state.

The government has performed creditably well, as you can se from the results of the votes that were garnered. There was not any strategy, per see, put in place by the party, except that the people appreciate that three and half years or four years is not enough to make any meaningful changes. That is why they have given us another four years to do it again. When we came in, there were a lot of projects abandoned by the previous administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). We had to complete all of them and even initiated some of our own projects too. Having done some of these projects, the next level I think now is to consolidate on the past achievements and to embark on new meaningful programmes that would be beneficial to the people.

Can you mention some of the areas you think your government has performed creditably well and some other areas that you need to work on in the next four years?

Some of the areas we have done very well include the construction and rehabilitation of some roads and drainages in Minna, the state capital. Water supply has also improved significantly, unlike what it used to be in the past, while pension issue is being tackled vigorously and payment of salary to state and local government employees is regular now unlike what obtained in the previous regime. This regular payment of pension and gratuity of our retirees and the state civil servants, including the teachers in the state public schools, is due to the management style of Mr Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani-Bello and the commitment of the party to achieving what it has in its manifesto.

The elections have come and gone, how would you address the issue of some communities who were not only hostile to the governor during the campaigns across the state and also booed him and his campaign team over perceived neglect of their local councils?

Those people did not have the correct interpretation of the workings of the different arms of government. For example, take the case of the people of Rijau Local Government Area who were complaining about the situation of their roads. The people did not understand the difference between state roads and federal roads. The road they were complaining about was a federal road. The government is going to make a new presentation about the poor conditions of the federal roads to the Federal Government. But the people did not care about the social amenities that are very close to them like the health facilities and other things that are very close to them. So, it is not as if we did not work at all but the communities have their own perception. Let me assure the people that very soon, government is going to renew its effort at calling the attention of the Federal Government to the road and the Federal Government is going to do something positive about it. I was told it is in the budget and I believe that the governor would pursue it vigorously to ensure it is done.

How does the party wade into its internal crisis, especially as regards the fallout from the primaries that brought on board people who were perceived as popular and notable faces in their respective zones in the state, while others were displaced?

Well you know the truth but you people in the media were trying to make a hype of the whole thing, but I have always believed that the media should not be sensational. You already know that INEC has filed up a particular candidate with another one because you cannot go to an election without a candidate and the candidate got his mandate through a court of law, which you are aware of. So, I don’t know what they are talking about that somebody is claiming that he also has a mandate to be the candidate in the election.

How did you hope to reconcile some aggrieved party members who are dissatisfied with the outcome of the party primaries?

Well, the reconciliation of some aggrieved party members within the party is an ongoing thing. But may be after the 2023 elections, it would be finally achieved because the reconciliation efforts will not end today. So, we have been trying to make sure that the party is running smoothly and, surprisingly despite all the internal crises, we were able to win all the seats that our members contested for. I want to tell you that we have won all the seats but for one in the state House of Assembly where we are going to have a rerun. We are very hopeful that we are going to win that one. At the end of the day, we want to have a record of 27:0 seats in the Niger State House of Assembly; 10 over 10 members in the House of Representatives and three over three in the three senatorial districts of the state in the Senate at the National Assembly and over one over one, meaning the reelection of the governor and his deputy for a second term tenure.

How did you feel as a party chairman after the elections?

Well, I am a very happy man. That is why I said we should thank the electorate for supporting us. In fact, the people said we are better than those who are opposing us. Nobody would want to reverse the achievements that have been made in the last three years. Some people have been there been there in the last 16 years and they did not achieve anything, doing it back-to-back. But it is you the media people that are trying to create that hype that some people are claiming to be what they are not. I want to tell you that APC is well grounded in Niger State and we are proud to tell you that there is no faction in the party. Although one or two people may disagree, but that does not mean there is a faction within the party. Faction means holding parallel party primaries, but there is no parallel party executive in APC in Niger State.

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We have just one executive of the party and that is one of the magic wands. If the executives were changed or tampered with, it would have caused a very serious upset for the party because going into elections with different executives could have caused a very serious problem for the party. The decision to maintain the status quo helped us a lot because the executives know and also understand the terrains. Because of that, we have unit executives which other parties did not have and the elections took place in the units. In fact, that was one of the things that assisted the party.

Across the country, Nigerians complained about the militarisation of the 2019 elections. Why such was not witnessed in Niger State?

Well, when we went to the 25 local government areas of the state with the state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani-Bello for his reelection campaigns, we told the people that we wanted a very peaceful election and I think that the thrust of the campaign enabled the people to see the need to have a very peaceful election in Niger State.

And that was our message that our people should maintain peace and harmony, while the slogan adopted by governor at that time was election is a game but it is not a place of violence. So, that really help by saying ba fada ba, waza ne (meaning it is not by fighting but a game of sport). Even before we reached everywhere, everyone knows the governor’s slogan as well as his message to the people. And that really helped us and we thanked God for that. Honestly speaking, it was not our words but it was God’s doing because God wanted us to live peacefully and there were prayers in churches and in mosques that we should have peaceful elections in the state. Once Allah answers your prayer, it gives you the wisdom to now tailor it and I think that was what happened.

What is your vision for the Niger State chapter of APC?

Well, APC in Niger State is a very strong party and I believe that, by the next four years, our achievements would have institutionalised the party more in the hearts of the people because we believe we are going to consolidate on our achievements of the past four years. When we do that, majority of the people are going to be happy with the party. There is no party without people, so if the people are voting us during elections, then the party is going to become very stronger and stronger as its hold on to power through successful elections.