2019: BINDOW, IT IS TIME TO DISSOLVE YOUR CABINET

The boiling pot has been spilling its content in Adamawa State, political parties and their candidates prepare for another round of election of Adamawa State come 2019,  the 2019 election is about Gov. Bindow and his strong opponent, Senator Abdulaziz Nyako, a Senator representing Adamawa central, son to the former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako. Why Bindow spent four years in the senate, Abdulaziz Nyako is on his first four years in the senate, preparing to take over Dougiriei Government House from Bindow in 2019. It is therefore, expected to be a straight fight between the Bindow led Apc and the ADC candidate, Abdulaziz Nyako. 2019 election would not be a literally replay of the 2015 polls. Mr. Bindow in his efforts to get to office as a governor in 2015, cross a lots of hurdles, political horse trading, alignment upon alignment to get his party ticket in 2015. Let me quickly bare my piece of mind in regard to 2019. If anybody thinks that 2019 will be easy about the Governor then, such person is only flattering Bindow. Looking back to 2015, the APC led Federal Government won the 2015 election based of the change promises made to Nigerians, couple with the hardship face by the people of Northeast as a result of the insurgency in the region, these led to the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and the band wagon effect of the Presidential election led to the victory of Apc in most State across Nigeria. It may interest my readers to note that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar did not contest any election of Adamawa in 2015, thus he Atiku throws his weight behind APC and it was confirmed by the Governor, that, Atiku donation of 500 million naira to Adamawa APC contributed immensely to his victory in 2015, a development that pitched Nyako against Bindow for declaring loyalty to Atiku, have seen that Nyako fought tooth and nail with his foot soldiers to secured victory for Bindow 2015. Even though Nyako won his elections then, he cannot forget in a hurry the trouble he faced in the hands of Atiku and the late Ibrahim Bapetel. 2019 is around the corner, it is expected of Nyako to support his son gubernatorial ambition in 2019. The question that come to mind is, who will stand with Bindow? A critical look at all the appointee of the Governor shows that, most of them came in with high expectation of getting money from this administration to share the overflow with their followers, but that has not happened, I was opportune to meet with a lot of Bindow’s cabinet members, which they all complained of not getting money the way other commissioners got under the previous administration in the State. Where can Bindow go with these sets of hungry appointees? Can these appointees crying over money always deliver their polling unit to the Governor in 2019? It will be a great disservice to Bindow for these political appointees around the Governor to be crying for money, as if they are not been paid monthly salaries. How much did Bindow’s appointee pay to secure the current position they are occupying? Why the complain? The commissioner you need to deliver on your campaign promises to the electorate is not the commissioner you need to deliver votes for you in 2019. It is fool hardy for the Governor to emulate Buhari when it comes to cabinet dissolution, INEC and the security belongs to Federal Government. It was on news recently how Bindow cabinet member and a Local Government Chairman fought over a little amount of money meant for distribution to the delegates in the just concluded Apc Delegates election in Adamawa, this show typical example of what am talking about. I remember a commissioner serving for Bindow complaining that, we can give what we don’t have, they are bitterly complaining that “Bindow baya sake mana kudi” meaning the governor is not releasing money to us, it seems these sets of appointees came in with itchy palm to either get rich or settle for nothing else. Even though, the governor release money to them, most of them will not spend the one quarter of the money to campaign for Bindow. Most of them are just there to feed their stomach and they cannot deliver their polling unit to the governor.  on the part of the Governor, He Bindow should not forget history in a hurry, what happened to former president, Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, not that the former President has not work for Nigerians, the propaganda of the oppositions overwhelmed him and he was rejected in 2015, Jonathan will sit and tell whoever care to listen that he has work and that his work will speak for him in 2015, but opposite was the case. Bindow should not console himself with the mindset of “I have performed and I have nothing to fear in 2019”. Your Excellency if I may recall, that you have truly transformed Adamawa, but Nigeria and Adamawa politics has not reached a stage where you give yourself pass mark base on your achievements so far, hoping to get vote’s base on your transformation Agenda. An average voter cannot choose good work to money at the polling booth on election day, he or she rather chooses money.  Another truth that must be told, look at the media aides of the Governor, they are just sitting idle waiting for press conference where they will get kickbacks or waiting for the Governor to drop cash so that they could superintend over the sharing formula for press crew. What make a media aide professional is when he or she put pen and paper to together to educate the people about the achievements of his principal. Investigation reveals that most of these appointees are currently having nocturnal meeting with Bindow’s opponents ahead of 2019 polls, in case the pendulum swing against Bindow in 2019. Bindow has recently loss his campaign guru, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abba Jimeta, to the cold hand of dead, which is consider by political analysts as major setbacks to the governor. To compound the whole issue, the change mantra and the SAK tsunamis that brought some of these people to power are not going to work in 2019, and if the Governor thinks that he will distribute money when election is at the corner, then he should know that most of these appointee will collect his cash and go home to rest during election day. A repeat of what happened to Goodluck Jonathan may happen to Bindow, if he fails to harken to voice of conscience.  It is time for Bindow to emulate Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue and Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State by dissolving his cabinet. The Governor should know that 2015 is not 2019. My humble is advice to Gov. Bindow is that “KEEP YOUR MONEY AND LOST THE CROWD OR LOST YOUR MONEY AND KEEP THE CROWD.

NICODEMUS MIKAILU WRITES FROM, YOLA

I CAN BE REACH ON: nicodemusmikailu@gmail.com