Dr. Yakubu Maccido Ahmad is the Senior Special Assistant to the Sokoto State Governor on Inter-Party Relations. A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he spoke about the governor’s giant strides in all developmental sectors, the opposition’s chances in the forthcoming general election, and how his party is strategising to retain the governorship seat in the state. Excerpts:
 
Before the 2023 general election, Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, while campaigning, unveiled his Nine-point Smart Agenda for the people of the state. Looking back today, would you say the governor has fulfilled his promises to the electorate?
Honestly, the people of Sokoto state are so lucky to have His Excellency, Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, as their governor because of his commitment to seeing that the state is revived to its glorious status. Take it or leave it, all sectors of the economy mentioned in the Nine-point Smart Agenda have been touched and achieved. Is it the strides in quality education, water supply, security, Islamic development, or health, among others? Today, the people of the state have felt the impacts in all these sectors. Look at the beautification of the state capital itself. Sokoto is one of the modern cities in Nigeria owing to the governor’s foresight in providing a state-of-the-art architectural outlook in all corners of the Sokoto metropolis. I believe someone who has visited Sokoto in the past will be surprised to see the new look the governor has created.

Let’s look at the insecurity in the state. What has the governor done differently to improve the situation?
The governor has continued to put his best foot forward in the area of safeguarding the lives and properties of the citizens, although we know there is still more to be done, if all hands are on deck. However, we must acknowledge the efforts made at the federal level and how the state governors have been complementing these efforts at the state level. We have seen the establishment of the State Community Security Guard by the governor, and the procurement of multi-billion-naira military operational vehicles to ease the security agencies’ day-to-day efforts against banditry. Recently, the governor went tough against the informants and ordered the security agencies to treat an informant the way they would treat an armed bandit. This is a strong word that reflects the governor’s political will in defeating any form of criminality in the state. In all, the release of funds for security operations by the governor is commendable. With this, I believe the war against banditry will be won in no distant time.
 
In the area of youth empowerment, the governor is ensuring that all youths in the state are engaged in meaningful purposes. Creating a lot of empowerment for these teeming youths is another factor for reducing crimes in the state. If you can recall, recently the governor approved mass employment into the State Civil Service, while qualified youths are being recruited into the teaching service board.

Despite all these, opposition parties in the state are mobilising to deny the incumbent governor a second term in office. Is the governor worried about this?
Honestly, I do not see the governor worried about the opposition antics ahead of the forthcoming general election in the state. Even we, who are his subordinates in politics, are not feeling the heat from the opposition. My position as the Senior Special Assistant to His Excellency, Dr. Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, on Inter-party Matters has really exposed me to the opposition class in the state. I know their little strengths and many of their weaknesses. I’m aware that they are of no match to the governor in the future election.

Currently, those who were seeing themselves as the bigwigs of the African Democratic Party (ADC) or the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) were, at one point in time, political followers of our party leader, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko. Is it Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Yusuf Suleiman, Faruk Malami Yabo, and the rest? They are of no match to either Senator Wamakko or the governor himself. So, there is no feeling of heat anywhere as far as the 2027 governorship election is concerned. Another scenario is that more opposition leaders at the grassroots are willing and ready to decamp into our party in no distant time. 

Do you really think the governor would secure another term?
I’m 100 per cent sure of his coming back in 2027. But I don’t want to brag about this.

What I will let the people know is the scorecards through the successful implementation of his nine-point smart agenda. The governor’s performance in all sectors is the yardstick to ensure his re-election in 2027. There is no doubt about this.

In the past, opposition parties in the state alleged that votes were manipulated by then incumbent governments to secure victory. What is the governor doing differently to give the assurance that your party will win without such allegations?
I don’t believe in such insinuations because the governor has always believed in free and fair contests. In 2023, the governor and our party weren’t part of the incumbent government, but we went ahead to defeat the candidate of the ruling PDP in a landslide victory with a wide margin. So, the opposition will always come up with excuses to hide their defeat. We are going to leverage the people-oriented projects for re-election campaigns. We don’t have to rig elections at this stage because the governor has won the heart of Sokoto people to ensure his re-election.

Inter-party rancour is a key factor that causes political unrest in the state and past events have proved so. What is your office doing to ensure political stability in the state ahead of the elections?   
My office, with the support of the governor, is doing its best to ensure political stability across party lines. He has been preaching peace and stability as the father of all politicians in the state. We are also working on how best to strengthen our party with more members. In the coming months, most of the bigwigs from the opposition will be joining the APC to achieve this. They will be joining our party in thousands. 

It has been said that the governor has deliberately abandoned some vital and capital projects at the State Teaching Hospital, which was left behind by his predecessor due to political reasons. What is your take?  
We are all aware of what is transparent in the execution of such projects; they are lacking fiscal accountability from the outset. For instance, the amount of money injected into the state teaching hospital project was enough for the contractors to complete the project, but was allegedly misappropriated by the previous government though the governor, in his wisdom, has assured that the project will be completed as soon as possible. So, most projects left untouched by this present administration were considered as being over-budgeted and lacking accountability, and no reasonable government would want to sweep such an issue under the carpet without scrutiny.

There are speculations of divided interests within the APC fold in the state in the sense that some members are loyal to Senator Aliyu Wamakko, while others are with the governor. How true is this assertion?
I’m happy you said it is speculation, and I do not believe in such. APC in Sokoto State is one big family, I can assure you. The only similar approach to such speculation is that every member of the party came through a leader. Some of the members might have joined the party because of Senator Wamakko, while others might have come through other leaders from their localities. But in all, we are all within one fold and have a leader and other leaders in their hierarchy. So, this cannot be said to be a divided party. It is a matter of who you are closest to in a member-leader relationship.