Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda has a tough decision to take and it is urgent. Will he go for the presidency or the Senate after his eight-year stint at the Government House.

Now, his supporters have been divided into two. While a wing wants him to go for the presidency the other wants him to be in the Senate representing Bauchi South Senatorial District.

Indeed, many political groups are currently agitating for Yuguda to be in the Senate in 2015 about seven months to the end of his tenure. He has also been endorsed for the Senate by many stakeholders. Campaign posters announcing his senatorial ambition have been pasted on strategic locations of the Bauchi metropolis and other local councils of the state.

In spite of this flurry of activities Yuguda is yet to publicly declare his intention as the Governor is still consulting with party leaders and stakeholders in the district.

Presently, the political atmosphere of the state is already saturated with subtle campaigns by his loyalists and political associates, moves that suggest that the tenure of Senator Adamu Ibrahim Gumba, the current occupier of the seat, will be over in a matter of months.

Already, it has been alleged in many political discourse that there was an agreement between Gumba and Yuguda that makes it obligatory for the senator to vacate the seat for the governor next year.

The Bauchi South seat became vacant in 2009 following the appointment of Senator Bala Mohammed as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Many indigenes of the zone, including Gumba and Mr. Ali Wakili, a retired Custom officer, contested for the ticket under the PDP, but Gumba emerged victorious.

Before his election as senator, Gumba was not a popular and influential politician like his counterpart, Wakili, because he lacked financial backing and a formidable network.  However, Gumba was said to have won the polls because he was regarded Yuguda’s anointed candidate and the governor reportedly provided him with human and material support to defeat his opponents.

Ahead of the 2015 general election, Wakili and other co-contestants defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) with the hope of clinching the party’s ticket for the Senate.  As it stands now, they have already deployed campaign materials across the zone in readiness for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s official nod for the commencement of campaigns.

Having tasted power, Gumba is expected to re-contest the seat. Sources close to Gumba have refuted claims that he was sponsored by Yuguda and that he is obliged to step down for the governor in 2015.

Feelers in the state have it that Senator Gumba has been watering the ground for his re-nomination. Between January and March, he h organised empowerment programmes for the people. A source close to him said that he has expended over N140 million on projects across the seven local councils that make up the zone.
Yuguda’s influence and campaign strategies seem to be yielding positive results as many political groups have started mobilizing for his candidature and are appealing to him to run for the Senate.

However, there is a twist to the governor’s speculated senatorial ambition. His posters for presidency have also flooded the streets of Bauchi metropolis fueling speculations that Yuguda may join the presidential race in 2015.

A group known as National Concerned Professionals has claimed responsibility for the Yuguda’s presidential posters.

The Chairman of the group, Dr Mohammed Chindo, told reporters that they are canvassing for Yuguda to go for the Presidency because they believed that with his track record in the public and private sector, he is the best person for the post.

On reports that Yuguda is eyeing Bauchi South Senatorial District, Chindo said that as professionals they believe that it was better for the governor to contest and lose the Presidency than to run for the Senate and win, adding that the senatorial bid was a local agenda that is too small for Yuguda.