KOGI GOVERNORSHIP POLLS: Anxiety as voters decide candidates’ fate

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  • Igala Agenda in crisis as Accord, SDP, others lock horns
  • Defection gale hits PDP
  • Opinion poll tips APC’s Ododo for victory

BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, BENEDICT NWACHUKWU AND BRIGHT JACOB

With less than five days for the people of Kogi State to decide who becomes their next governor, it is becoming more interesting and suspense-packed, especially as the incumbent Governor Yahaya Bello won’t be on the ballot.

The questions on the lips of many Kogi indigenes are: who succeeds Governor Yahaya Bello? What will be the voting pattern across the three Senatorial districts, especially among the governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress, People’s Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, Accord Party and African Democratic Congress?

Opinion polls conducted on the candidates among indigenes and residents of Kogi State revealed that the Kogi election would be a contest between candidates, political parties and the major ethnic groups in the state.

The Igalas in the Eastern Senatorial District of the state have nine out of the 21 Local Government Areas that make up the state. Though they had been touted in the past to have more than 50 per cent of the state’s population, some schools of thought have challenged this, claiming that past leaders had only sold that to the people to perpetuate their hold on power, while causing crises in other districts. They held the governorship position for more than 16 years.

The Ebiras, on the other hand, have held the governorship position for two terms and are warming up to produce another governor to succeed the incumbent governor who is from the Kogi Central Senatorial District. If they succeed, it would mean that the two districts would have levelled up in terms of governance at the end of two terms, leaving the stage for the Okuns.

Right now, the Kogi West Senatorial District is also clamouring for the governorship seat “in the spirit of equity and fairness”. The Okun people have not been privileged to produce a democratically-elected governor since the creation of the state in 1991.

On their part, the electorate are optimistic that the governorship election will be free and fair and won by the APC because of the unprecedented performance of Governor Yahaya Bello in the state, and also as a result of the crises that have torn some of the other parties and agenda apart.

According to the final list from the electoral umpire, Independent National electoral Commission, 18 candidates from 18 political parties are running to succeed Yahaya Bello in the Lugard House.

Three out of the 18 candidates are from Kogi West Senatorial District, 14 candidates are from Kogi East, while only one candidate is from Kogi Central.

USMAN AHMED ODODO (APC)

He is from the Kogi Central Senatorial District. Ododo is a former Auditor-General for Local Governments in Kogi State and the candidate of the APC in the November 11 election.

Ododo, who polled 78,704 votes to beat other six candidates that contested the governorship primary of the party held in April 2023, was declared the winner of the election to fly the party’s flag for the gubernatorial election.

Being the only candidate from the Central senatorial district, Ododo is widely accepted and supported in the whole of Ebiraland.

Being the candidate of the ruling party, he enjoys the support of, not only his Governor, but the majority of party members and APC governors across the country. The APC structure is also very strong in the state, apart from the fact that the incumbent governor’s loyalists cut across all senatorial districts on the back of the even distribution of life-changing projects across the zones.

Just like the Central senatorial district, political appointees from Kogi East and West senatorial districts have expressed their commitment to delivering Ododo as the next governor of the state.

Looking deeply at the structure of the party, unlike others, winning the election might come easier for APC’s Ododo because the support he receives from the grassroots is none compared to other candidates, according to polls.

“Three out of the 18 candidates are from Kogi West Senatorial District, 14 candidates are from Kogi East, while only one candidate is from Kogi Centra”

LEKE ABEJIDE (ADC)

Leke Abejide is a serving House of Representatives member who was elected under the platform of the African Democratic Congress to represent Yagba Federal Constituency. He was reelected on February 25, 2023 for his second term as a federal lawmaker.

Popular for his empowerment of his people, Abejide is running for the Kogi governorship seat under the platform of the ADC where he won his two previous elections.

He was born on May 8, 1975 to his parents from Alu, Yagba East local government area of Kogi State and he is one of the three candidates from Kogi West Senatorial District.

A school of thought said that Abejide would have focused on his Reps seat and continue to spread his tentacles to prepare for a greater task while another is of the view that his popularity in Yagba Federal Constituency, which is just three out of the 21 LGAs in the state, doesn’t guarantee his victory at the poll.

There are speculations that Abejide is being sponsored by an unknown political figure to split the votes from his constituency to favour another candidate.

DINO MELAYE (PDP)

Dino Melaye is the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in Saturday’s contest.

Melaye is a former senator and was a member of the 8th National Assembly, representing Kogi West senatorial district.

He is from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu local government area of Kogi State.

Melaye contested the governorship primaries of his party in 2019 but lost to Musa Wada who later lost the gubernatorial poll to the APC.

Melaye who would have been the sole candidate of the people of Kogi West senatorial district is currently being attacked by some people who claimed that they want to avenge his actions during the November 2015 governorship election in Kogi State. He was said to be instrumental to the declaration of the 2015 election as inconclusive. This act was tagged as betrayal and they are willing to pay him back for working against his fellow Okun man.

Several calls have been made to reconcile Melaye and the people of Kogi West senatorial district but the matter remains unsolved.

MURITALA YAKUBU AJAKA (SDP)

Born in 1981, Muritala Ajaka was the Deputy National publicity secretary of the APC and a gubernatorial aspirant of the party but was later disqualified after a suspension by the executives of the party in his ward.

Ajaka resigned his position and membership of the APC after which he emerged as the gubernatorial candidate of Social Democratic Party in the November 11 election.

His chances of winning the election are becoming slim because of other political heavyweights from his senatorial district who are also contesting the election and have wide support in Igala land. More so, an alleged case of forgery against his running mate is one that has kept some of his supporters sceptical, considering the fact that this could ultimately affect the joint ticket.

USMAN JIBRIN (ACCORD PARTY)

Born on September 16, 1959, Vice Admiral Usman Oyibe Jibrin is a retired Nigerian Navy Vice Admiral and the 21st Chief of Naval Staff. Prior to his appointment as Chief of the Naval Staff, he was the Chief of Logistics and Director of Training, Defence Headquarters, Abuja.

He was the military governor of North Central State from July 1975 to 1977 during the military regime of General Murtala Mohammed.

He has good support of the Igala nation, more among the elite, but that may not be enough to win the governorship contest.

APC TAKES THE LEAD

Away from x-raying the person of the candidates, the ruling APC is taking the lead in terms of preparation for the forthcoming governorship election in the state leaving behind the major opposition, the PDP.

While the APC governorship candidate is going about meeting people and consulting with stakeholders, little is being heard about other candidates who many claim are doing “underground assignments,” despite what many have described as media hype.

The APC has been receiving defectors who were stakeholders in their former political parties, especially from the PDP, SDP and the ADC. In most cases, whole structures were collapsed into the ruling party.

A former Kogi State Deputy Governor, Yomi Awoniyi, was received by the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, in Abuja after joining the party from the opposition PDP on September 12, 2023.

Awoniyi, who expressed his admiration for Governor Yahaya Bello’s exemplary leadership, commitment to inclusivity, unity of purpose, and governance, was officially received into the APC at the party’s National Headquarters in Abuja.

He served as deputy governor of Kogi State from 2011 to 2015 during Captain Idris Wada’s administration.

The former PDP chieftain acknowledged the complexities and challenges of Kogi State politics and commended Governor Bello for exceeding expectations.

“I served as the deputy governor of Kogi State between 2011 and 2015. I know the state very well, and I can tell you that the current governor has done exceptionally well in terms of leadership and good governance. His humility is unmatched, and his ability to unite the people is remarkable,” he said.

Another former governorship aspirant of the PDP, Joseph Erico, was also, last week, received formally into the APC.

Erico, alongside decampees harvested from the SDP, LP, APGA, and other political parties, was received by the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Edward Onoja, on behalf of Governor Yahaya Bello at the Okpo Ceremonial Square in Olamaboro, last Monday.

All appointees of former governor Idris Wada, and many political leaders of the state, across parties, have also pledged their support for the APC and its candidate.

CRACKS IN KOGI PDP

Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Kogi State, the controversial emergence of Dino Melaye as the PDP candidate for the gubernatorial contest has created more cracks within the ranks of the troubled party.

Checks by The Point revealed that many chieftains and members of the PDP in the state are worried over the development.

According to party sources, several stakeholders, groups and individuals within the party have raised the alarm over the challenges posed by the gale of defections since the emergence of Melaye as governorship candidate, calling on the gubernatorial candidate and other leaders of the party to urgently take drastic steps towards pacifying the many aggrieved chieftains that may also be considering dumping the party before the all-important election.

A former state chairman of the party, who does not wish to be named, said that many more prominent chieftains of the PDP in Kogi were plotting to leave the party and join the ruling party before Saturday’s election as a way of showing their displeasure with the way Melaye cornered the gubernatorial ticket of the party.

“They are biding their time. They will move out of PDP unless we do more than we are currently doing to pacify them,” he said.

Speaking further, he accused Melaye of carrying on as if he could win the election without those who are unhappy with his candidacy.

“The governorship election is not about Melaye alone. It is about the party and he needs to understand that. We have a good chance of returning to government this time if we put our house in order. Sadly, Melaye is carrying on as if he can win the election without those who are unhappy with his candidacy,” he added.

“We are doing a lot to reconcile the affected people. We are talking to those who are unhappy and those who are plotting to dump our party. We just hope the winners will be magnanimous and the losers will be sportsmanly all in the interest of PDP as we go into this very important election,” a former lawmaker said.

To many analysts and other observers of the politics of the state, the angry PDP chieftains and their supporters are most likely to throw their weight behind Ododo Usman, the governorship candidate of the ruling APC.

MORE DEFECTORS

Recently, Governor Yahaya Bello received into the APC a large contingent of PDP leaders and members from Olamaboro Local Government Area, led by Senator Attai Aidoko Ali. The delegation pledged unwavering support and expressed their commitment to stand firmly behind the governor at all times.

They pledged to ensure the victory of the APC candidate in the November 11 governorship election. The defectors included the pioneer State Secretary of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, the former Chairman of the PDP in Olamaboro Local Government Area, ward chairmen and secretaries, as well as other key party stakeholders.

Similarly, stakeholders, including former executive members of the opposition PDP in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State have joined the ruling APC in the state.

Alfred Bello, a former member of the state House of Assembly and immediate past treasurer of the PDP in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area, Obamoh, Enimola Dare, Olori Janet Ikusemo, Joseph Ayeribe, Aiyepeku Paul, Joseph Olorunfemi, and others were past executive members of the PDP in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of the state who have abandoned their party for the APC.

Earlier, three PDP members who contested Kogi House of Assembly seats resigned their membership of the opposition party.

Sunday Maiyaki, Daniel Jones and Joseph Olupeka dumped the party weeks after losing the March 18 election. They addressed their letters of resignation to the PDP Chairmen of their various wards. Maiyaki was the candidate for Yagba West, Jones vied for the Mopamuro constituency seat; Olupeka was the candidate for the Ijumu constituency.

“Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Kogi State, the controversial emergence of Dino Melaye as the PDP candidate for the gubernatorial contest has created more cracks within the ranks of the troubled party”

Analysts say that Melaye must bring his A-game to stand a chance of toppling the powerhouse that is the APC in Kogi State.

In their views, the election will not be a walk in the park for the “controversial” candidate of the PDP.

Other analysts have also pointed at the back-to-back-to-back losses Melaye suffered in the last three elections he contested before he beat all comers to clinch the PDP primary ticket in April 2023, and opined that the losses are not only ominous hints that his quest to be governor could also fall flat, but that his political fortune was fast declining.

A Port Harcourt-based chartered accountant, Ifeoma Ogbonna, who said she follows Melaye on social media said of the politician, “I see some of Melaye’s posts on Instagram and I must confess that a lot of them are funny, especially when he sings to mock his foes and detractors.

“Melaye is a former senator. He had at some point also been a member of the House of Representatives and this election will not be his first shot at the Kogi State governorship seat. He has accomplished a lot politically.”

Ogbonna, however, added that the election would be a whole new ballgame and that Melaye would not stand a chance against the candidate of the APC.

“The governorship election in Kogi State will be a whole new ballgame. It will not be a comedy show and neither will it be a contest to determine who the funniest politician is. It will be serious business and Melaye has to use every trick in the book in order to stand a chance against the APC in Kogi State. But I don’t think that will be possible,” she said.

According to Isiaka Abdulkareem, the infrastructural development of the state by the incumbent governor will stand his anointed candidate, Ododo, in good stead for the election.

Abdulkareem’s submission may not be unconnected with some of the landmark achievements of Bello’s administration in the state.

For instance, the construction of Grade Interchange Flyover at Ganaja Junction in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital; the well-equipped Reference Hospital in Okene as well as the GYB Model Science Secondary School, Adankolo, Lokoja, are part of Bello’s footprints in the state.

These accomplishments and many more scattered across the state is the reason Tinubu and the APC governors, during the official flag-off of the Kogi State APC Governorship Campaign, had urged Kogites not to allow “strangers” deceive them, saying they should hold on to the APC which, according to them, is the tested and trusted party.