Meet The Contenders For Niger East Senatorial Bye-election
All eyes will be on Niger State on August 30 for the Niger East senatorial bye-election which is to fill the vacant seat left by the death of Senator Dahiru Awaisu Kuta who passed away on June 12, this year after a protracted illness.
All the contenders are set to battle it out and there is little or no doubt that the race is solely between David Umaru of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Dr. Shem Zagbayi Nuhu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are the front runners.
The APC’s candidate, David Umaru, and that of the PDP, Zagbayi Nuhu, both emerged winners after last weekend’s primaries of the two political parties.
Nuhu defeated his former House of Representatives challenger, Musa Abdullahi, to emerge victorious during the party primaries, which took place at the state PDP secretariat, along Eastern By-pass, Minna.
Umaru, who lost the 2007 and 2011 governorship election respectively to the incumbent Governor Babangida Aliyu, on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), emerged the APC flag bearer after defeating his former House of Representatives member rival, Adamu Kuta.
Learn more about both aspirants below:
David Umaru (APC)
David Umaru is considered by many as the favourite to win the seat due to his overwhelming popularity in the senatorial zone. He is known as a grassroots politician who enjoys the support of the people in the rural areas. He has contested the governorship elections twice, in 2007 and 2011, under the All Nigeria Peoples Party and lost amidst allegations by many in the state that he won the last elections but was rigged out by the PDP. Since then, he has been the leading light and the face of opposition in the state. The Niger East senatorial zone is dominated by the Gwaris and he is seen as the one to champion the cause of the Gwari people in the Senate.
After consulting far and wide with the stakeholders in the state, David Umaru decided to shelve his ambition to run the state and settle for the Senate.
As if to answer the questions posed by his change of heart, he said while declaring his intention to contest, "I am listening to the people and you know the call is above party line, so people’s decision matters a lot. This call for me to contest is coming from people, not about party, but about people and whatever they say is okay by me."
According to him, there has been pressure on him since the death of Senator Dahiru Aweisu Kuta to contest for the bye-election, hence his decision to run for the Senate, only for the service to the people.
"Wherever late Senator Dahiru is today, he will be happy that I accepted the call of the people because based on our discussions when he was alive, I know he would have supported the decision to go after the desire of the people".
However, Umar has a fierce battle ahead of him, especially due to the fact that Niger State has always been in the hands of the ruling party PDP since 1999 and the party may be leaving no stone unturned in its bid to retain the seat. While that may be adjudged to be a weakness, his popularity with the electorate may be his biggest strength which may swing in his favour.
Shem Nuhu Zagbayi (PDP)
Shem Zagbayi is a former deputy governor under Engr Kure’s administration in Niger State. A popular pharmacist in the state,he has also made his intention known and was the sole candidate of the PDP before Hon Musa declared his intention to contest under the PDP. He has been commissioner in the state several times and is regarded as a versatile politician. He was favoured to succeed Kure as governor in 2007 but was schemed out by the zoning arrangement that was operational then. It was alleged by many that he was schemed out by virtue of being a Christian in a state that has never been ruled by a christian in a democratic regime.
Out in the cold due to the political calculations in Niger State, he has made his intention known to contest for the Niger East senatorial seat. However his weakness going to the elections is that he is not seen as one who can champion the cause of the Gwaris. He was accused of not impacting on the lives of his people when he was the deputy governor. It’s no secret that the governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu is nursing the ambition of being a senator and Zabagyi is seen in some quarters as a stooge seeking to hold forte for the governor till next year. This may be his Achilles heel going to this elections.
Sources: Daily Independent, Leadership
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| APC’s David Umaru, and PDP's Zagbayi Nuhu |
The APC’s candidate, David Umaru, and that of the PDP, Zagbayi Nuhu, both emerged winners after last weekend’s primaries of the two political parties.
Nuhu defeated his former House of Representatives challenger, Musa Abdullahi, to emerge victorious during the party primaries, which took place at the state PDP secretariat, along Eastern By-pass, Minna.
Umaru, who lost the 2007 and 2011 governorship election respectively to the incumbent Governor Babangida Aliyu, on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), emerged the APC flag bearer after defeating his former House of Representatives member rival, Adamu Kuta.
Learn more about both aspirants below:
David Umaru (APC)
David Umaru is considered by many as the favourite to win the seat due to his overwhelming popularity in the senatorial zone. He is known as a grassroots politician who enjoys the support of the people in the rural areas. He has contested the governorship elections twice, in 2007 and 2011, under the All Nigeria Peoples Party and lost amidst allegations by many in the state that he won the last elections but was rigged out by the PDP. Since then, he has been the leading light and the face of opposition in the state. The Niger East senatorial zone is dominated by the Gwaris and he is seen as the one to champion the cause of the Gwari people in the Senate.
After consulting far and wide with the stakeholders in the state, David Umaru decided to shelve his ambition to run the state and settle for the Senate.
As if to answer the questions posed by his change of heart, he said while declaring his intention to contest, "I am listening to the people and you know the call is above party line, so people’s decision matters a lot. This call for me to contest is coming from people, not about party, but about people and whatever they say is okay by me."
According to him, there has been pressure on him since the death of Senator Dahiru Aweisu Kuta to contest for the bye-election, hence his decision to run for the Senate, only for the service to the people.
"Wherever late Senator Dahiru is today, he will be happy that I accepted the call of the people because based on our discussions when he was alive, I know he would have supported the decision to go after the desire of the people".
However, Umar has a fierce battle ahead of him, especially due to the fact that Niger State has always been in the hands of the ruling party PDP since 1999 and the party may be leaving no stone unturned in its bid to retain the seat. While that may be adjudged to be a weakness, his popularity with the electorate may be his biggest strength which may swing in his favour.
Shem Nuhu Zagbayi (PDP)
Shem Zagbayi is a former deputy governor under Engr Kure’s administration in Niger State. A popular pharmacist in the state,he has also made his intention known and was the sole candidate of the PDP before Hon Musa declared his intention to contest under the PDP. He has been commissioner in the state several times and is regarded as a versatile politician. He was favoured to succeed Kure as governor in 2007 but was schemed out by the zoning arrangement that was operational then. It was alleged by many that he was schemed out by virtue of being a Christian in a state that has never been ruled by a christian in a democratic regime.
Out in the cold due to the political calculations in Niger State, he has made his intention known to contest for the Niger East senatorial seat. However his weakness going to the elections is that he is not seen as one who can champion the cause of the Gwaris. He was accused of not impacting on the lives of his people when he was the deputy governor. It’s no secret that the governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu is nursing the ambition of being a senator and Zabagyi is seen in some quarters as a stooge seeking to hold forte for the governor till next year. This may be his Achilles heel going to this elections.
Sources: Daily Independent, Leadership
Meet The Contenders For Niger East Senatorial Bye-election
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