Deputy Governor: Yakowa’s Associates Nominate Widow

In a bid to compensate for the loss of her husband, wife of the late Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State, Amina Yakowa, has been tipped to succeed former deputy governor, Mukhtar Ramadan Yero as the new deputy governor of the state.

P.M.NEWS gathered this morning that the idea was mooted by friends, associates, top politicians and traditional chiefs in the state who raised the idea at an emergency meeting held yesterday.

A source who disclosed this to P.M.NEWS hinted that it was a traditional chief who first raised the idea and other dignitaries at the meeting jumped at it, conceding to the emir’s suggestion that Yakowa’s wife should be compensated with the position of deputy governor since her husband won the 2011 election by popular votes and died in office while on active service.

According to the source who attended the meeting held yesterday at Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna, to discuss who becomes the deputy governor of the state, almost all those present at the meeting nodded at the idea.

Information gathered by P.M.NEWS revealed that some popular politicians from the late Yakowa’s Southern Kaduna area, however, seemed uncomfortable with the idea.

Part of the reason attributed for their outright rejection of Mrs. Yakowa to emerge as deputy governor is that she has not been a politician and might not be able to properly represent the Southern Kaduna zone that over the years had suffered marginalisation, until when the late Yakowa emerged as governor.

A former member of the Kaduna House of Assembly who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity explained: “Those who mooted the idea are from the Northern part of the state. They don’t know how we feel about the loss of Governor Yakowa. Some of us are not against the idea per se, but in the interest of good representation, we want an experienced politician from our area to take over as deputy governor so that all our interest can be properly taken care of.”

As at press time, series of meetings were still ongoing in the three zones in the state to determine who emerges as the new deputy governor of Kaduna State.

Meanwhile, the corpse of the former governor was still being expected in the state as at the time of filing this report.