It was not unexpected. The sacking of Dr Tahir Mamman, as the Minister of Education, from the Federal Executive Council (FEC) was as a result of the political intrigues and conflict of interest in the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the party stalwarts in Adamawa state.
The party stalwarts are the National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, and some of the state executives of the party perceived to be loyal to the sacked minister of education, who wants to throw his hat for the number one seat of the state under the party in 2027.
This writer reliably gathered from sources, that the sacked minister of education, held a closed door meeting with some of the party’s executive from the 21 local government areas of the state in Abuja where he informed them of his ambition to contest the 2027 Adamawa state governorship election on the platform of the APC.
This was said not to have gone down well with the NSA, who single-handedly nominated Dr Tahir Mamman as a minister. Another version had it that the sacked minister was dropped from the cabinet because he was no longer loyal to Ribadu.
The newly appointed minister, Dr. Idi Mukhtar Maiha, who will be take charge of the newly created Ministry of Livestock Development, is a friend and ally of the NSA. He served at the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) before where retired.
It’s a power play by Ribadu, who has now assumed the role of a kingmaker in the political equation of the Adamawa state APC. Political analysts are of the conviction that the real fight for the soul of the state APC is set to begin between the sacked minister and the NSA.
Others are of the view that Ribadu has done the right thing by convincing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to drop Mamman from his cabinet. They opine that as minister in the last one and half years, Mamman has not done anything tangible to the state.
Nevertheless, another school of thought believes that the sacked minister needed to give way because of his policy which pegged the age for university admission at 18 years. This did not go down well with some people, particularly from the South-west and South-east.
They view the policy as trying to shortchange the South academically. Even in the North, the university admission benchmark introduced by the erstwhile minister of education didn’t receive the blessings of most parents as it will deny the brilliant ones from gaining admission into the university.
The line was, thus, drawn between the NSA and Mamman. It remains to be seen how far each will go in the political arena of Adamawa state.
The new minister, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, is not famous in Adamawa state because after he retired from the Kaduna Refinery, he established Zaidi Farms in Kaduna where he engaged in large scale mechanised farming and animal husbandry. As such, he has to contend with the politicking of the complex state of Adamawa.
He has to make a difference for the fact that the state’s two ministers – Mohammed Musa Bello and Mamman – did not do anything significant for the state and its people during their stewardship.
The unfolding development will determine the fate of the sacked minister with regards to governorship ambition. The assertion that the NSA is the kingmaker can only be tenable and applauded by the people if the ministers can accentuate and accelerate development.
Let the new minister utilise the opportunity he now has to endear himself to the people of Adamawa state. He should justify his appointment, which was made possible by his friend, Ribadu. The state needs to feel the impact of its representative at the highest decision making body of the country, this time around.
Usman Santuraki,
No 74, Tafida Street, Jimeta, Yola,
Adamawa state
08032333546,09123490602
[email protected]
