Audu: Third coming that never was
- His life and times
By Willy Eya
Yesterday, darkness figuratively descended on Kogi,
the confluence state, as the governorship candidate of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Abubakar Audu, slumped and died. The
APC candidate, who was already in a clear lead in the governorship
poll conducted on Saturday, died of undisclosed medical reasons before
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the
elections inconclusive.
His death, which initially started as rumour, threw the entire state
into confusion, when it was later confirmed that Audu, who governed the
state between 1999 and 2003 on the platform of the All Peoples Party
(APP) had indeed, joined his ancestors. Most politicians in the state
were at a loss on the implication of Audu’s death in the state’s power
equation.
Before 1999, Audu was governor between 1992 and 1993 on the platform
of the National Republican Convention (NRC) and won the election held
in November 1991 but had to relinquish the position when the military
led by the late General Sani Abacha truncated that era. He was later to
be re-elected by a wide margin when Nigeria returned to democracy once
more in 1999.
His administration is credited with several achievements and he was
adjudged the best governor during the 1999-2003 tenure after a
nationwide media tour organised by the Ministry of Information and the
Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ). But surprisingly in 2003, he vied
for re-election but lost with many of his teeming supporters believing
that it was masterminded by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by
former President Olusegun Obasanjo. After losing in his re-election bid,
he did not give up, as he contested again in 2007 and 2011 and lost
again on the two occasions.
In his turbulent political career, the greatest challenge he faced
after completion of his four-year term in 2003 was from the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which levelled corruption
charges against him. The case has been on for 12 years, with his
supporters claiming it was masterminded by his opponents in an attempt
by the then ruling PDP to smear Audu’s image, especially in the light
of the achievements recorded during his tenure.
He responded to such allegations, stating that while he was governor,
the state received less than N400 million as monthly allocation, and
that it would have been impossible to embezzle the N12 billion that the
agency claimed he looted when he received less than N19 billion in
total, yet embarked on many projects.
Before his death, Audu had expressed concern that the EFCC case was
being politically motivated. His political opponents also believed that
when he held sway from 1999- 2003, he personalised leadership in the
state by naming most of the projects he embarked upon in his name. There
were also allegations that he lived a flambouyant life as governor of
the state.
Prince Audu was like a cat with nine lives, as many were surprised
with his emergence as the candidate of the APC at the August 28, 2015
Kogi State gubernatorial primary election. But the major challenge he
faced ahead of the election was his N11 billion case with the EFCC. In
the build up to the campaign, the Presidency released a statement that
President Muhammadu Buhari’s photograph should be removed from the
poster of Audu. Many had thought that the act by the Presidency had put
paid to the ambition of Prince Audu, but he survived and picked the APC
ticket.
In the results released yesterday, before the INEC declared the
election inconclusive, Audu polled 240, 867 votes, while his closes
opponent and incumbent governor, Idris Wada garnered 199, 514 votes.
Born on October 27, 1947, to the family of His Royal Highness, the
late Pa Audu Oyidi, Orego Atta of Igala Land and the paramount rule of
Ogbonicha-Alloma in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State, Audu began
his early education at the then N.A. Junior Primary School, Alloma and
later N.A Senior School, Ankpa, from where he proceeded to Dennis
Memorial Grammar School, Onitsha. He completed his secondary school
education at Jos Commercial College.
Audu travelled to London in 1975 where he studied Banking and
Personnel Management, obtaining professional qualification as a
certified secretary. He was a Fellow of the Association of International
Accountants of London, as well as the earned a fellowship of the
Chartered Institute of Industrial Administration of Nigeria.
He began his working career in First Bank, formerly Standard Bank,
where he spent 25 years, serving in different capacities at management
levels until 1991. He made history as the first black training officer
for the bank and one of the first black senior management staff of
Standard Chartered Bank in London and New York.
Audu was appointed Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning in
the former Benue State in 1986, where he served for two years. When
that council was dissolved, he went back to First Bank of Nigeria Plc.
as General Manager. In 1991, he was appointed Executive Director of FSB
International Bank Plc. He thereafter joined politics and contested in
the gubernatorial elections, which he won on the platform of the NRC.
Recently, Audu married his third wife, a young half-caste from Benue State.
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