By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
Barring a last-minute change of decision, the deputy governor of Niger State, Yakubu Garba, will resign from his position “any moment from now”, multiple sources told Daily Nigerian.
In preparations for the resignation, the sources said the embattled deputy governor had begun packing out some of his belongings from the official residence at the weekend.
According to Daily Nigerian, Insiders confirmed that they witnessed suspicious movement of the deputy governor’s property from the official residence between Saturday and Sunday.
“As I speak to you, he has substantially moved out his belongings from the official residence to his private residence. He will resign any moment from now,” the source added.
Daily Nigerian gathered that some traditional rulers in the state had visited him on Sunday night in order to persuade him to shelve the plan.
It is, however, unclear whether Mr Garba had changed his mind after the monarchs’ visit.
Insiders said the deputy governor’s decision to resign might not be unconnected to the strained relationship with his principal, Umaru Bago.
A source said Mr Garba had endured a lot of disrespect and hostility from the governor and his close aides.
He said in the recent times, Mr Garba was never consulted in many activities of the administration despite coming to power on the same ticket with the governor.
The source said the last straw that broke the camel’s back was the replacement of Mr Garba’s preferred candidate in the forthcoming local government election in the state.
Daily Nigerian correspondent gathered Mr Garba and stakeholders of the APC in his local government, Shiroro, had settled for Babangida Kudodo as the consensus candidate, but when the list of candidates was released by the party headquarters, another candidate, Isyaku Bawa, got the ticket.
It was further gathered that apart from the deputy governor’s choice, many consensus candidates were also replaced by the party leadership, allegedly on the orders of the governor.
“Nobody consulted him on anything. He does not have control over any part of the government. The deputy is treated with disrespect despite his huge contributions to the success of the party and loyalty to his principal.
“Even his monthly allowances and overhead have been ridiculously slashed,” said the source.
Although the deputy governor has yet to reply to our correspondent’s message, seeking clarification on the matter, his press secretary, Ummikhultume Abdullahi, said she wasn’t aware of her principal’s plan to quit.
She also said Mr Garba has not relocated from his official residence, adding that she just had a meeting with him at his official residence.