Presidential Polls: Panic Grips PDP Governors

Barely 10 days to the governorship and house of assembly polls, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) controlled states are now said to be in mortal fear following the sweeping of last Presidential elections by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Indications to this emerged on Monday when Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose offered the olive branch to Presidentelect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, soliciting for support and cooperation for him.
It was gathered that as at last night, frantic efforts were being made by other PDP governors especially in the north where the APC snatched victory from them to strategise on the next line of action as the signal from the presidential polls has already been giving them sleepless nights. The panic is hinged on the fact that the victory at the Presidential polls may be transferred to the governorship leading to a landslide for the APC in the entire north.
Mostly affected are states like Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Adamawa, Jigawa, Kogi, Gombe and Bauchi. Even in states where the PDP had marginal victories like Plateau, Benue and Taraba, the fear of the APC has become the beginning of wisdom. The strategy, it was learnt was to ensure that none of the state becomes an opposition state by the time the APC takes over the Presidency come May 29.
Those particularly affected by the panic include PDP governors who are candidates in the next elections like Kaduna State Governor Ibrahim Yero. Most of the PDP governors from the north who were candidates in the last National Assembly elections lost to their APC opponents. They included Babangida Aliyu of Niger, Isa Yuguda of Bauchi, Ibrahim Shema of Katsina and Gabriel Suswam of Benue.
A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, Alhaji Mijinyawa Umaru Kugama declared that APC is set to carryout its final onslaught on the PDP to reclaim its mandate. Kagama, a former state chairman of the PDP in the state insisted that Governor Murtala Nyako was illegally removed by the PDP and that April 11 is pay back time for the recovery of APC’s stolen mandate.
He spoke to reporters in Yola shortly after Buhari was declared the winner of the Presidential election saying that Adamawa State cannot afford to be in the opposition and that was why APC would step up its house-to-house mobilisation with more vigour to fight and bury PDP in Adamawa. “ You can see that our Presidential candidate won Adamawa, we also cleared all the three senatorial seats and six out of the eight House of Representatives seats in the state to show how we dealt with PDP in Adamawa”, Kugama said.
Kugama said the victory of APC in Adamawa and Nigeria in general has justified former Governor Murtala Nyako’s prediction that the days of PDP were numbered due to its actions of impunity and imposition. He said the victory recorded by APC in all the elections in Adamawa was a boost to the chances of its gubernatorial and house of assembly candidates. “ I want to call on our teeming supporters not to relent in coming out en masse to vote APC on the 11th of April for real transformation of the state.
“ I also want to communicate to the good people of Adamawa of former governor Nyako’s message of solidarity for the change they voted for and his promise to return soon”, Kugama said.
In Ekiti State, already, the APC has asked all its lawmakers who constitute the majority in the state house of assembly to resume in the state. Most of them have relocated out of the state for fear of their lives following threats by the state governor since the division in the house which saw the minority nine in control of the house of assembly.