As the day of decision over who controls the affairs of Nigeria as from May 29th comes closer, the most notable contenders in Zamfara state are president Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
There is no doubt that both Titans are wielding their political ‘weapons’ and putting their ‘armour’ together for the grand duel.
DAILY POST, therefore beams its searchlights on the strengths and weaknesses of the main contenders in Zamfara State to project who is likely to run away with victory in the State.
From the look of things, APC has been dominating the political atmosphere of the state since 1999 when the party was formerly known as APP and later to ANPP until they formed an alliance with other political parties and renamed the party to APC.
It is very obvious that the PDP has never formed any government in the state, as it has been all APC affairs since the country recovered democracy from the ‘khaki boys’ in 1999.
However, most political analysts are of the opinion that the situation would remain the same.
Political bigwigs and those who make things happen in the state are all in the APC fold and there is a general notion that the APC has entrenched itself at the grassroots which has been identified as the voting powers.
Based on this analysis, political pundits have concluded that president Muhammadu Buhari will defeat former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar on Saturday, the 16th of February.
When Buhari came into the state last Sunday, the crowd that trooped out to welcome him was unbelievable, as security operatives had challenges controlling them.
But the PDP are banking on the internal crisis that is currently rocking the state wing of the APC, believing that the aggrieved faction of the party in the state would give Atiku Abubakar and the PDP the upper hand against Buhari and his APC.
In Zamfara politics, only a casual observer can judge by the crowd that come out for any campaign.
It could be recalled that recently, the National Rescue Movement (NRM) suspended its governorship candidate, Senator, Saidu Mohammad Dansadau for declaring openly that he was behind President Muhammadu Buhari even when NRM has its own presidential candidate.
The same thing with the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA , Alhaji Sani Abdulahi Shinkafi who also openly stated that he would support Buhari even when the presidential candidate of his party came to Zamfara state recently for his presidential campaign.
Just last week, Senator Garba Kabiru Marafa in a press conference told newsmen that he has advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to come to Zamfara, saying that it was unnecessary because whether Buhari comes to the state or not, he must win the state.
He noted that the president had built a macho image for himself in the state , stressing that the question on whether Buhari would win the state was unreasonable.
Investigation carried out by DAILY POST revealed that the grassroots and some of the elite were made to believe that APC is a northern political party while the PDP is a southern political party.
This political culture has been instilled in the memories of Zamfara state citizens, since the beginning of democracy in Nigeria in 1999.
Another factor is that the people see the PDP as a Christian dominated political party, which gives the reason why General Ali Gusau with all his military might and as a moneybag cannot make any political impact in the state.
So, with these political factors, put together, it becomes glaring that come Saturday, the 16th of February, president Muhammadu Buhari might run away with a landslide victory in Zamfara State, even as political pundits have concluded that their political permutation will favour president Muhammadu Buhari.
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