Kano: Jibrin’s Fall: Ganduje, Gbajabiamila Seal His Fate

By Tosin Olatokunbo

Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa has been taught a bitter lesson he will never forget any time soon, by those he once trusted and helped to ascend the ladder of power.

They have frustrated his plan to return to the National Assembly.

A relatively unknown PDP Aliyu Datti Yako last week, defeated Kofa and will now represent Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano.

But, Yako has now revealed that he was helped to win by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to defeat his opponent.

Ganduje and Kofa are of the same party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.

According to Yako “We depended on God to see us through and He did what we never expected. We wake up in our constituency to see everybody becoming PDP supporter from Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

So, it is necessary that we thank all the leaders in Kiru/Bebeji. “We thank Governor Ganduje, the party (APC), the police, INEC and others for ensuring peaceful and smooth conduct of the election and allowing democracy to take its due place.”

Kofa was a power broker in the lower house before he fell out with the power-that-be in APC.

Not long after he helped installed Gbajabiamila as speaker than his problem started.

First, he was denied the juicy committee chairman on Finance, which he so much coveted.

He was also left out in the power arrangement, making room for Doguwa, another lawmaker from Kano to become House Leader.

Those close to Gbajabiamila told the magazine that the speaker had feared the growing influence of Jibrin and decided to cut him to size.

“Don’t also forget that Jibrin has also lost support at home with the governor, so it was very easy to decide his fate,” an APC lawmaker said.

He explained that Ganduje was among APC governors that “supported Gbajabiamila to become Speaker, so the Speaker may have agreed to do his bidding at a point, which is to decapitate Jibrin politically,” he stated.

But the world finally turned upside down for Jibrin after the Appeal Court ordered a rerun election in his constituency.

Now he has lost to a relatively unknown PDP candidate who obviously rode on the crest of the state governor to win the election.

Both Kofa and Ganduje were once political allies before they fell out during last year’s governorship election, keenly contested by the incumbent and a PDP candidate.

Even though Governor Ganduje later won after a rerun, those who know told the magazine that he never forgave Kofa, who supporters of the governor, said showed double loyalty while the election was going on.

The former lawmaker was also said to have offended the former APC chairman in the state, Abdullahi Abbas after he said the former claim to be a prince was false.

Abass is now a commissioner in Ganduje’s cabinet.

Sources told the magazine that the lawmaker later begged the governor for forgiveness, but the damage has already been done.

His efforts to make President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene on his behalf, did not also materialise as the governor has made up his mind on what to do, sources said.

Ganduje had confided in close aides that he will teach the lawmaker a bitter political lesson.

He did.

Those familiar with the politics of the state, said, Governor Ganduje committed a huge financial resources to making sure his former ally did not return to the House of Representatives.

The fallen lawmaker has obviously seen the mark on the wall that contesting the election will end in a futile exercise.

He has now accepted the election of the PDP candidate in good fate and has vouched not to contest the result.

That decision comes with far-reaching implication though: the once very powerful lawmaker from Kano will now watch the House of Reps from the sidelines. At least for the next four years.