The victory of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Guber election in Sokoto state Alh. Ahmad Aliyu last week was long time coming. It seemed just a matter of time before the APC reclaims it’s mandate snatched by the PDP in 2019 in a controversiai manner. A sigh of relief to all of us that the APC has reclaimed its mandate in the most convincing manner. Congratulations to his excellency, the Sokoto state Governor-in-waiting Alh Ahmad Aliyu.
The APC won the 2023 Gubernatorial election fair square and clear. It was a victory highly predictable for some reasons: The lacklustre, disappointing and below par performance of the Aminu Tambuwal-led PDP administration in the last 8 years it held sway in Sokoto state, the part elimination of vote buying and more importantly, the towering influence and grassroots support enjoyed by Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, the leader of the APC in Sokoto state.
The Governor-elect Alh Ahmad Aliyu is a grassroots, hugely popular and charismatic politician in his own right. The incoming chief executive is a well experienced technocrat and has played his part in securing his victory over the PDP. During his chequered and successful career in the public service, Alh Ahmad Aliyu was the deputy governor, Sokoto state 2015-2018 and resigned to contest the 2019 gubernatorial election. He was the executive secretary of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) and has previously served as commissioner in several ministries across the Sokoto state civil service. It is therefore fair to say that Alh Ahmad Aliyu will deploy his wealth of experience in public service to steer Sokoto state to greatness in the years ahead. The incoming chief executive of Sokoto state has worked in all the 3 tiers of government: local, state and federal hence he has what it takes to lead Sokoto state to the promised land.
The victory of Alh Ahmad Aliyu actually took root in 2019 and the incoming chief executive waited patiently for 4 years to reclaim his mandate.
It is on record that the PDP won the 2019 Gubernatorial elections with a meagre 342 votes. This margin of victory (342) scored by the PDP has gone into the Guinness book of records as the slimmest, slightest, meanest, thinnest and most negligible margin of victory in the history of gubernatorial elections in Nigeria. As a a matter of fact, analysts argue that the victory wasn’t genuine and the indescribable 342 narrow margin of victory is an indication of a rigged election. Although the courts confirmed it, 342 was to be the smoking gun that will eventually propel governor-in-waiting Ahmad Aliyu’s victory in the Guber election last week.
DOES THE AMINU TAMBUWAL ADMINISTRATION GET IT?
The answer is N.O.
The Aminu Tambuwal administration simply doesn’t understand the challenges facing our dear Sokoto state. They are detached from the people and simply seem to be paranoid and drunk about holding on to power at all costs. The Aminu Tambuwal administration were behaving like tourists in government who have no clue about the challenges that our dear Sokoto state face. All through the 8 years that Aminu Tambuwal held sway in Sokoto state, there was no innovation, no creativity or any sign or determination to move Sokoto state forward. There were no infrastructural development and no welfare programmes. To cap it all, the Tambuwal administration was sourcing bank loans with nothing on ground to justify these loans. Our dear Sokoto state is now left to pay off these loans with huge interest to go with it.
A CONTINUATION OF SEN WAMAKKO’S LEGACY
The incoming Ahmad Aliyu administration is poised to continue with the legacy of development pioneered by Sen Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko during his tenure as executive governor of the state 2007-2015. It was an unprecedented legacy of development across the several key sectors of the socio-economic fabric of Sokoto state. During his tenure as governor, Sen Wamakko initiated and completed several legacy projects in the state: the Sokoto state university, the world class Orthopaedic hospital in Wamakko, several rural and urban road projects to mention but a few.
Sen Wamakko has also introduced skills acquisition centres and several reforms in the agricultural and health sectors in Sokoto state during his tenure as governor.
The incoming governor Alh Ahmad Aliyu will dig into these reforms and take them to the next level.
Sokoto state will certainly experience a renewed agenda of development and reforms and our dear state will take its rightful place in the comity of states under the leadership of Alh Ahmad Aliyu Insha Allah (SWT).
