Bauchi by-election: Why Dogara’s people voted against Buhari’s man – Ex-LGA APC councillor reveals

– Two top political stakeholders have aired their views as to why the PDP won the Bogoro local government area of Bauchi in the just concluded by-election

– One of them, Daniel Musa, said that people in Boro are loyal to the PDP because of development projects delivered to them by past administrations under the party

– Also, Monday Danladi, a former APC councillor in the local government, said that the people decided on their own, having been affiliated to past the PDP-led government especially under Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

There have been voiced opinions by political critics as to what influenced the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Bogoro local government area of Bauchi during the recent Senate by-election in the state’s south senatorial district.

Although the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the polls in every other local government area in the constituency, the trend was broken in Bogoro, the federal constituency that Speaker Yakubu Dogara has represented since 2007, with the PDP winning nearly twice as much votes as the APC in the local council, Vanguard reports.

A political stakeholder, Daniel Musa, told newsmen that Dogara did not go on any campaign for the APC senatorial candidate in his ward, a decision which some see as an indication that he was not interested in the APC’s victory.

Musa said: “The speaker never came out categorically to campaign for any candidate of the political party contesting the election, though there were rumours that he was canvassing for support for the APC, I feel it is not true.

“Again, there are allegations that his body language depicts he has gone back to the PDP, I feel it is not true because it is just a mere body language and not an official declaration.

“If he has come back to the PDP, he would have contacted me and told me about it, but I am expecting him from now to 2019 to make that declaration.”

He stated the APC lost in Bogoro because of the people’s loyalty to the PDP which stemmed from development projects delivered to them by former federal and state PDP-led governments.

He further said: “All the federal government interventions in Bogoro Local Government Area were brought when the speaker was in the PDP from 2011 to 2015.

He left the party for the APC when he was denied the ticket to contest again, but I think the speaker still loves PDP.”

Speaking on the PDP’s victory, Monday Danladi, a former APC councillor in Bogoro, said that the area became inclined to the party from the time of the Goodluck Jonathan administration and the people have promised to maintain the status quo.

Danladi said: “I think this was a contributing factor and the people were not necessarily swayed by the influence of the speaker, the people decided on their own.”

Some of the projects include the National Open University Study centre in Tafawa Balewa, the free medical outreaches, and the construction of federal roads.

Earlier, TRACK NEWS had reported that the candidate of the APC, Yahaya Gumau had won the Bauchi south senatorial election held on Saturday, August 11. The PDP only won in Bogoro local government area, the council of Dogara.