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Tag: Audu

  • APC NWC presents party flag to Audu

    APC NWC presents party flag to Audu

    The National Working Committee (NWC) of All Progressives Congress (APC) has presented flag to the candidate of the party in the November 21 governorship election in Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu.

    Presenting the flag to Audu at the Lokoja Confluence Stadium yesterday, APC National chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, said it was time for Kogi to join the change train and move the state forward.

    Oyegun stated that the National Working Committee was ready to march on and deliver Kogi APC, asserting that the party was ready to take what belongs to it.

    He urged Kogites to vote en mass for the APC gubernatorial candidate, pointing that the process of change has begun in Kogi State.

    The National Chairman, who was ably supported by a host of party hierarchy and governors of APC-controlled states, told the crowd they will return to Lugard House to celebrate APC victory after the election.

    Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano Central) stated that the time for change has come for Kogi people to embrace change now.

    The former Kano Governor, who addressed the crowd in Hausa pointed out that the governorship candidate was a man of many achievements, calling on the electorates to vote for the APC candidate at the election.

    The Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha said that Audu has done much for the state and ready to do much more.

    The APC National Women Leader, Hajia Ramatu Tijani described Audu as a pragmatic leader who has done much when he was governor and who is capable of doing better.

    Audu, who was welcomed to the platform by shouts of “Change Wada, Change Wada” said that he came on a rescue mission, pointing out that Kogi remains the most backward state in Nigeria.

    Other dignitaries at the presentation of the flag included the APC National Vice Chairman, Lawan Shuaibu; Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Almakura;  Deputy Governors of Adamawa, Kwara and Niger States; the APC Zonal Women Leader, North Central, APC serving Senators, House of Representatives members and State House of Assembly members from across the 36 states of the federation.

  • Audu’s campaign: Kogi govt wasted over N500b

    Audu’s campaign: Kogi govt wasted over N500b

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State has alleged that the state government wasted close to N500 billion under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration.

    The party, in a statement by the Head of Media, Prince Abubakar Audu Governorship Campaign Organisation, Dr. Tom Ohikere, said despite the dearth of social infrastructure, the PDP administration under Governor Idris Wada wasted over N.5trillion.

    The statement reads: “The PDP government in kogi State has received and spent over  N500 billion since 2003 without financial accounting. The administration has been operating as if the state is a personal enterprise.

    “The Wada government has refused to render financial records to date, thereby negating the principle of stewardship and accountability.

    “It is neither a responsible nor a responsive government. It is a government deficient in integrity and bereft of modern democratic principles.

    “Since the advent of the Wada administration, the financial account of Kogi State has been shrouded in secrecy. It is being managed in a mafia style. Democratic government anywhere in the world is about the people and government is about accountability.”

    The PDP, however, told the APC to desist from spreading false information.

    It said the party should address what it described as the burden of corruption hanging on its governorship candidate.

    The Chief Communication Manager to the Governor, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, said the choice of Prince Abubakar Audu as the APC standard-bearer negated President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption stance.

    He said: “His ambition is a clash as it relates to the stand of his party. It is a slap on the Buhari anti-corruption campaign. Yes, there is a belief that a man/woman is presumed innocent until he or she is proved guilty.

    “There is a moral burden here. The case has been on for as long as you can think, with Prince Audu using frivolous injunctions to stall justice.

    “Now, he is trying to hide under the anti-corruption mantra to seek immunity from justice.

    “Simply put, let our dear President Buhari detach himself from Audu’s political quest. His dusty past of corruption is a virus that will defame the President’s stance on anti-corruption.

    “Audu’s issue should be avoided because this is not about today’s rampant politically-motivated accusations. The records on Audu date back to 10 years before the formation of the APC. If the APC is not careful, Audu’s ambition will ruin Mr. President’s good agenda on change.”

  • Koton-Karfe agog for Audu

    Koton-Karfe agog for Audu

    Koton-Karfe, the headquarters of Kogi Local Government, was agog yesterday as members and supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held a solidarity march to mobilise voters ahead of the November 21 governorship election.

    The event, tagged: “Ten Thousand-Man March, Walk for Change”, started at Tatu Hotel about 2:20pm, moving through the Ohimege Igu Palace Road to the village square where the people converged to listen to messages.

    Addressing the supporters, one of the APC leaders in the area, Saidu Akawu Salihu, said the wind of change blowing across the country would soon sweep away vices in Kogi State.

    He urged the electorate, especially youths, to resist attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the elections.

    Salihu, a former member of the House of Assembly, said what he saw showed the end of the PDP in the area.

    The President, Abubakar Audu Vanguard for Change, Comrade Abdullahi Jibrin Babalauya, said the people were tired of failed promises by then PDP and were ready to vote it out.

  • Audu: power rotation sacrosanct in Kogi

    Audu: power rotation sacrosanct in Kogi

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the November 21 governorship election, Prince Abubakar Audu, has reiterated his commitment to power rotation.

    He said if elected, he would fulfil the promise ofpower rotation in 2019.

    The APC standard-bearer said power rotation would give other senatorial districts a sense of belonging.

    Audu said Kogi would be safer under the APC, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari would fulfil his campaign promises to the people of the Northcentral.

    He said the Igala, the Okun and the Ebira lived peacefully in the old Kabba Province for 75 years, adding: “What they did to us in Kwara and Benue states was not good enough. We were not given a chance. That was why we agitated for the creation of Kogi State and today, what we said was not good for the Igala when we were in Kwara and Benue should not be repeated in Kogi.”

  • Indigenes in diaspora endorse Audu

    Indigenes in diaspora endorse Audu

    Kogi State indigenes in the diaspora have endorsed the All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) standard-bearer, Prince Abubakar Audu, for next month’s governorship election.

    They said the support followed Audu’s development blueprint, which he made available to them.

    The people, operating under the aegis of the Kogi Renaissance Forum (KRF), in a statement by the coordinator, Acheneje Marcus, an engineer, said they were confident of the workability of the blueprint for Kogi’s development.

    In the statement in Abuja, KRF vowed to attract foreign investments to the state under Audu’s administration.

    Ex-Governor Audu recently embarked on a trip to the United Kingdom and the United States of America where he discussed his development blueprint with the Kogites in the diaspora.

    Marcus said besides his blueprint, Audu’s sense of judgment, experience, exposure, track record and intellectual ability encouraged them to support him.

    The group urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to ensure a hitch-free poll. It said it would send a delegation to monitor the election.

  • Kogi: Audu, thrice beaten…

    In a matter of weeks, the people of Kogi State will make an important decision about who to elect as their governor for the next four years. The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has fixed the Kogi governorship election for November 21. Two weeks later on December 5, it will be the turn of Bayelsa to go to the polls. In both cases, the people will be faced with choices they have been faced with in the past as both races are between the incumbent governors and ex- governors.

    The frontline candidates in Kogi are the incumbent governor- Capt Idris Wada and ex-Governor Abubakar Audu while in Bayelsa- the race is between ex- Governor Timipre Sylva and incumbent Seriake Dickson.  In both cases, the electorate have the rare opportunity of making an informed choice based on verifiable scorecards of the candidates stint in office.

    In Kogi, Audu’s handlers are mindful of that fact and have had a head start of campaigning based on what they describe as ‘unparalleled achievements’ during his six years stint as governor between 1991-1993 and 1999-2003.  Many people have also assigned to Prince Audu the title of the Father of Modern Kogi.  The achievements they list out include the establishment of the Kogi State University, some housing estates in Lokoja, Kogi State Polytechnic, NTA Kogi, Confluence Beach Hotels and Graphics newspapers. They go further to ascribe establishment of Dangote Cement company, Obajana to the efforts of Audu.

    Audu’s opponents however are quick to point out that the ‘achievements’ were more of cosmetic achievements. One case they always refer to is the conversion of buildings of a World Bank agricultural project to university that could not offer one accredited course and renaming same after himself.  It took later PDP administrations for the university to reclaim the name Kogi State University and the category A accreditation it enjoys today.  They go further to assert that even Graphics newspapers that Audu claims to have established was just a newspaper house in name as all their publications were printed by Tribune publishing house. It was the Wada administration that established a printing press for the newspaper in Lokoja thus making Graphic a true newspaper house. They also wonder how Audu could lay claim to the establishment of Obajana Cement-when the state had no public private partnership law in place until the advent of the Wada administration. They go further to challenge Audu to mention the direct stake he negotiated for the state in Obajana cement- a fully private institution.

    Wada’s handlers are quick to state that in a little over three years, Wada has built a foundation for a truly modern Kogi despite the fact that he has had access to less than half of the resources at the disposal of Audu during his time. This is a fact that even Audu has attested to at different fora!  The achievements they point to are an unprecedented 200% leap  in Internally generated revenue; great improvement in peace and security as opposed to the climate of thuggery and violence that reigned during Audu’s time. They also point to the establishment of a modern transport plan that includes government subsidized transport system- the first of its kind in the nation, establishment of a modern transport mega terminal and the establishment of inter and intracity transport land and water transport schemes. Other achievements are the attraction of foreign investments like Allo Cement Company, Cargill USA and Nigeria-Korea Vocational Centre via an aggressive drive to attract investments. They posit that if Wada given six years that Audu had, Kogi would be massively transformed as all the ongoing projects like 250-bed teaching hospital, the phase  II Lokoja project which is being heralded with the 16km Otokiti Ganaja Bypass Road, the Lokoja water reticulation, the 11-Storey Kogi House etc would have been completed.

    Other political analysts are of the opinion that beyond performance, Wada And Audu are going to compete on the basis of character.  Audu’s supporters acknowledge their client’s weakness on this front but are quick to point that his arrogant tendencies are far surpassed by his penchant for what they term sterling performance.  A lot of people still recall that during Audu’s two previous adventures in power, he ruled like an emperor and saw the state as an extension of his fiefdom. As governor, lesser human beings including his commissioners and other top functionaries of government cringed in his presence. They dared not sit whenever the emperor was on the throne. People were expected to crawl before him and obey him without objection. Salaries and allowances were regularly withheld without explanation.  Civil servants  were routinely laid off without regard to extant rules.

    Has the former governor learnt his lessons? Not likely.  Happenings at the recent Eid prayer where muslim faithfuls had to delay their prayer for over five hours to wait for him. Two weeks ago, while returning from a trip abroad, a large number of supporters were mobilized to Jamaata bridge where they waited several hours for Audu. The long wait was said to have taken a toll on the health of an aged man who collapsed and was rushed to a near by hospital for revival. Recently, a reporter was reprimanded for having the effrontery to seat on the dining table in Audu’s Ogbonicha country home.

    In Audu’s time, people with genuine grievances could not air them freely without reprimand from the powers that be then. The former banker also carries a deep baggage from his earlier sojourn in Lugard House during which he was  alleged to have helped himself from the common till. He is still standing trial over an alleged stealing of about N12 billion from the state revenue.

    Given the fact that Kogites have experience of both Wada and Audu regimes, Will Kogites hand Audu the red card as they did on three previous occasions? The answer to this question and  to whether Kogites prefer to return to the hero worshipping days of Audu or will prefer to continue with the all inclusive governance style of the incumbent will be handed down on Nov 21.

  • Audu: APC ’ll pull Kogi out of doldrums

    Audu: APC ’ll pull Kogi out of doldrums

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) standard bearer for the November 21 governorship election in Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu, spoke to reporters in Lokoja, the state capital, on the choice of his running mate, his plans for the state and his achievements as a former governor of the North Central state. JAMES AZANIA reports.

    What informed the choice of Hon. James Abiodun Faleke as your running mate?

    There are two factors. One, I have tried home-based people as my running mates in the past and they all brought disappointment to our team, so I felt I should look out for someone with a wider horizon and one who understands the concept of development and has bundles of experience in same. I got Faleke after a thorough search.

    Like my own background, I was never a politician and was never resident in Kogi State. I worked round Nigeria, Britain and the United States of America, pursuing my banking career. Sometimes ago, I was the highest paid black man in Britain and America, having occupied the seat of Assistant General Manager (AGM) in Standard Chartered Bank. I started my banking career with British Bank of West Africa to Standard Bank of West Africa to First Bank of Nigeria. Then, First Bank had an affiliation with Standard Chartered Bank. So, by extension when I was working with First Bank I was also working with an affiliate bank abroad —  Standard Chartered Bank. This is why my approach was different and in view of this, my people insisted that I must be governor. So, when I eventually became the first-elected governor of Kogi State in 1992, which was abruptly truncated as a result of military incursion I went back to the bank to resume my normal career as a banker.

    Again in 1999, I contested as a result of severe pressure and won as governor of Kogi State again. The most dramatic thing about the victory achieved in 1999 was that I had a tragic auto crash about three months to the election while coming home and was hospitalised in a London hospital for three months. I was discharged from the hospital two weeks to the election and through the special grace of God I still won the election. I remain eternally grateful to God almighty and the good people of Kogi State for the confidence they had in me. I see most of our politicians that are home-based as being myopic, based on my past experience. This is the more reason why I had to shop outside and fortunately I found Faleke. He is a rare breed with similar background with me.

    Faleke is not home-based and as such have no political enemy down home. Such was my own case then when I came into politics, there were seven aspirants before my entry. But immediately I showed interest the seven withdrew.

    Secondly Faleke is applauded in Lagos, so I am of the view that if he has done so well in Lagos as a two-term chairman of a local government and at a stretch a member of the Federal House of Representatives, representing the good people of Ikeja Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, as our son in Kogi State I am of the believe that his leadership qualities will be highly needed to move Kogi forward because our dear state is in shambles. By the special grace of God, our team will scale through.

    What is your take on the recent recruitment into the civil service by Kogi State Government?

    I believe they are fooling the people. They want to use it for election purposes. If those that are on their staff establishment at the moment cannot be paid and some receive stipends what is the essence of recruiting new ones? They want to make the employment a political issue to improve their battered image because civil servants have not been happy with the government. These include their non-promotion for upward of 12 years now; those promoted on paper have no financial benefits attached and therefore the promotion has no meaning. Again, salaries are not paid as at when due.

    When eventually they were paid, it was done on percentage basis. So, if they like, let them recruit every adult in Kogi State into the state civil service, it will not help them in the forthcoming election. I am not insinuating or exaggerating, neither am I trying to score a cheap political point. This is what is on ground in Kogi State and the position we find ourselves in right now. It is a battered situation that needs urgent rescue and the APC is at work to pull our dear state out of the doldrums.

    What will be the focus of your administration if elected?

    I strongly believe in first things first. By the special grace of God when Kogites elect us into office on November 21, 2015, all the sectors crying for attention, like human capital development, structural development, environmental sanitation, as well as physical development will be rejuvenated. Without mincing words, let me say emphatically and categorically that the most backward state in Nigeria today is Kogi and this has become a major source of concern to all of us. In the process of building our capacity to the status it assumed when we were in office between 1999 and 2003, when Kogi was described as the fastest developing state in Nigeria; I was crowned as the best performing governor. But now the story has changed. The rot is so much that our state needs an urgent rescue attention because the terrain has been so devastated.

    Therefore, the onus lies squarely on us to do everything humanly possible to bring our dear state out of the woods.

    On this note, I have renewed my friendship with the international community and immediately after our primaries, I travelled abroad to strategise with our friends on how to move our dear state forward. Thank God they are willing to come and assist us like they did on the issue of the state university when I established it morally and financially. Then, they sent in a white American deputy vice chancellor to assist us kick-start, aside giving us a donation of $7.5 million, they also provided instructional materials, books and journals.

    In addition, we had nine visiting professors and an allegiance programme put in place so that all final year students will go to America to broaden their horizons and widen their scope of knowledge as well as acquire new outlook.  They did it in the past and they are willing to come and do it again.

    While you were in office between 1999 and 2003 you might have stepped on one or two toes. What steps have you taken in making amends?

    Not one or two toes. I stepped on very powerful toes because of my belief of the concept of development and an egalitarian society. Kogi State has suffered a lot. The components that made up state today was formally under one umbrella called Kabba Province and has been together for an upward of 73 years as one indivisible body. We were the brain-box, the intellectual capacity of the then Northern Nigeria.

    However, we got nothing from this; our people were used as disposal materials. We were only needed to add up the number and we were after usage laid off again. This is a very pathetic situation and this gives me a lot of concern.

    This was what spurred me up into masses’ development but it met brick wall as some powerful individuals insisted I must not have my way and instead I should, ‘share the money.’ I refused, hence the battle that I just have to leave at all cost. I was called so many names; some said I was arrogant and that they will show me who they are… they showed me because I went through hell. I went through one of the worst travails in the political history of this country. From ICPC where I was cleared at first, I was taken to EFCC, where I was arraigned before four different courts, but they could not nail me.

    In Kogi State to be more emphatic, I was first handcuffed before Justice Medupin. On the faithful day I was brought to court, the students of Crowther Memorial College came out to the street to protest. They rained stones on the security operatives and it was a big battle between the students and the police. After the trial commenced and they knew they were not making a headway under the learned legal luminary, they now moved the case to another court under Justice Otu who wanted to say I had no case to answer. So, when they sensed that, they wrote some things and took to Justice Olusiyi who also viewed it in the perspective of his other colleagues and wanted to leave me. When they sensed this again, they moved the case before Justice Hussein and he too wanted to leave me. At this stage they forwarded the case to Abuja. The day I was arrested, it was on the highway and I was in the entourage of the sitting President Mohammadu Buhari to a zonal rally in Jos. They blocked my vehicle on the highway and dragged me out, tour my dress, slapped me and gave me serious torture in the process of which I had a blood-shot eye. They handcuffed me and took me to Abuja to face 80 count-charges. They said I stole a car, my wife stole a car, the deputy governor’s wife stole a car – all one-count charge, and all the people they said stole the cars, eight-count charges. But, the EFCC was acting on the instruction of the then Attorney-General of the Federation. There and then again as they discovered they could not make a headway, they went to the Code of Conduct Bureau and I was arrested by the bureau and taken to the tribunal… it is too long a story.

    Besides, these there were three attempts on my life but for God who gave life preserved my life. It is however noteworthy to state here that the last attempt on my life was at the Kogi State University Anyigba, in broad day light when I was officially invited to attend an occasion. From there they set-up a panel headed by a professor. It was a very long story at the end of which a White Paper was issued banning me from politics for 10 years and my assets were seized. So, I went through hell. It was a political vendetta and persecution but I thank God that I am alive today, hale and hearty and by the special grace of God, the APC will win the election.

    It is being rumoured that you are seeking to come back as governor to take vengeance. What is your response to this?

    I can assure you that I will never take vengeance. So, anybody insinuating such means such person or persons has really offended the other to whom they have such insinuation. As for me, I hold no grudge against nobody and am not offended by anyone, instead I offended everybody and hereby apologise and beg for forgiveness because to err is human and to forgive is divine.

    I also want to make it clear to the civil servants that they will not be held responsible for all that happened in 2003. Everybody in Kogi State knew that the electorate voted for me and I would have won that election but there was intervention from the very top; they used their federal might, bringing in aircraft from the Air Force Base in Makurdi and the military from their base in Lokoja, who tortured, maimed and killed over 22 people. For the first time, I saw soldiers stuffing and snatching and carrying ballot boxes. So it baffles me if they now say I am annoyed with civil servants who in the actual sense were not responsible in any way for the manipulations that took place. I am a friend of the civil servants and we had good rapport during our sojourn in office between 1999 and 2003 and this relationship shall be built upon in the next administration.

    What about the alleged master/servant status quo you are being accused of, particularly while you were governor?

    Many things has been said to ridicule my person to score cheap political popularity. One of these is that, ‘if you want to see Audu, you have to crawl 15 kilometres on your knees to where he sits and if Audu is sitting on the chair everybody will sit on the floor’. It is very very sad because a lot of people allow negativity to control their sight. This is ridiculous and very much unlike me. I pray God forgive my detractors.

    On the issue of the non-payment of workers’ salary, how do you intend to tackle this if elected?

    I did pay arrears of workers’ salaries for seven months in 1999. These were backlog from the military government. The APC is an organised political party that will do everything humanly possible to bring smile to the face of the led and on our own we shall run a people-oriented government that will bring smile on the faces of civil servants.

    Our government will be 100 per cent salary payment and not 20 per cent as obtainable now. More so, we promise to pay the backlog of salaries owed civil servants. I have done it and will do it again.

  • Audu unfolds three-point agenda

    Audu unfolds three-point agenda

    The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Kogi State governorship election holding on November 21, Prince Abubakar Audu, has unfolded a three-point agenda.

    He unveiled the agenda at Alu in Yagba East Local Government when receiving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defectors in Yagba Federal Constituency.

    Audu said he would focus on power shift, declare a state of emergency in critical sectors of the economy and concentrate on ‘stomach infrastructure’.

    Said he: “Let me make my three-point agenda known to the people because I want to be held responsible for my words when I assume power. First, I will ensure power shift becomes sacrosanct.

    “I will be the first governor to change power. I must honour my agreement that after my tenure, I will ensure power moves either to Kogi West or Central.

    “Second, I will declare a state of emergency in the critical sectors of the economy, especially the infrastructural sector. Shortly after I won the primaries, I travelled outside the country where I met international business organisations, who are waiting for me to be sworn in so that they can invest in the critical sectors of the economy.”

  • Abubakar Audu, once beaten twice shy!

    Abubakar Audu, once beaten twice shy!

    In a matter of weeks from now, the people of Kogi State will make an important decision about who will be their governor for the next four years. Specifically, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed the Kogi governorship election for November 21st. Two weeks later on December 5th it will be the turn of Bayelsa people to go to the polls. In both cases, the people will be making their choices from a pack of old and familiar war horses. In Kogi, the election is promising to be an interesting shopping exercise.

    So far, about seven political parties have nominated standard bearers for the poll. They include Labour Party (LP), Accord Party (AP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and Social Democratic Party (SDP). The first three of the parties boast notable candidates who have at different times held top political offices in the state. They are former Deputy Governor, Philip Salawu of the LP, former Governor Abubakar Audu of the APC and incumbent Governor Capt. Idris Wada of PDP. But, those who are familiar with politics of the Confluence State and the credentials of each of the candidates believe the contest will be a two horse race between Audu and Wada.

    To say the least, Audu is a formidable opponent. His strength lies in his records of achievements as a former governor of the state. So are his weaknesses. Audu is the most rugged politician in the race. He has contested every gubernatorial election since the creation of the State in 1991 and won two, first in 1992-93 in the short lived Third Republic, and second in 1999- 2003. His current expedition will be his seventh. With such record, the Ogbonicha prince profiles himself with the self-effacing sobriquet ‘Father of Kogi State.’

    Perhaps, it is true. Audu’s reputation for development is praised to high heaven. Among legacies his supporters point to are the establishment of Kogi State University (KSU) Anyigba, Kogi State Polytechnic (KSP) Lokoja, Obajana Cement Company, Phase One Housing Estate, Old Poly Quarters, Commissioners’ Quarters, Assembly Quarters, State Library, Radio Kogi, NTA Lokoja and Graphics Newspaper. Others are construction of an eye clinic, a Reference Hospital, Cottage Hospitals and a secondary school in his village. In fact, for want of better things to mention, one ardent fan says Audu has a good sense of glamour, referring to his countless gorgeously embroidered agbadas! For these reasons Audu says ‘Kogi is my baby.’ He smiles when his fans massage his ego with the phrase ‘messiah of Kogi’.

    But, a closer look at the Audu years in government will at once put a lie to the super hero/ genius image with which fans like to adore him. Audu was the first and second elected governor of a state that was literally begging for development. What is today being glamourized as his ‘unequalled records’ are the minimum just about anybody would have recorded as governor, at the time Audu did. That he established a university was not a miracle. Higher education was a priority in all the states. Governors of virtually all other states created along with Kogi State established a university- Olorogun Felix Ibru of Delta State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State, Boni  Haruna of Adamawa State, Chinwoke Mbadinuju of Anambra State and Abba Ibrahim    of Yobe State all established a state university in their respective states. In the case of Kogi it was made easier by an existing UNDP agricultural facility in Anyigba. The facility was promptly converted to a university. The same explanation goes for the polytechnic. The satellite campus of Kwara State Polytechnic in Osara was also converted to a full-fledged institution with the main campus in Lokoja. Audu added a theatrical blend to the establishment of the university when he christened it Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, with the ear tingling and jaw breaking acronym, PAAUA.

    When Lokoja became state capital in 1991, the then small local government headquarter was overwhelmed by the influx of civil servants coming from both old Benue and Kwara states. Constructing residential and office accommodation was therefore a priority for the government. So it was not a mark of ingenuity that the pioneer governor constructed Government House, some office accommodation and residential estates to take people away from dwelling under trees. “If he did not build his own office, would he expect to be operating from the village square?” asked Pa Eneojo while speaking on the issue.

    Audu likes to be remembered as a leader that laid the industrial foundation for the state’s development. He conceived of a cement factory in Obajana. It is to his credit that the idea was taken over by the industrialist, Aliko Dangote and today Obajana Cement is one of the biggest cement companies in a single location in the world. But, people conversant with the Audu persona recall how the former governor allegedly bagged cement from another company outside the state with Obajana Cement’ printed on it and brought same to the Lokoja Township Stadium for launching with fanfare. This was at a time when not a single tree had been uprooted from the site where Obajana Cement was supposed to be located.

    Some of Audu’s electoral burdens have psychological foundation. The former governor who prides himself as a prince is said to be son of a non political and untitled village head in Ofu Local Government. During his two previous adventures in power, he ruled like an emperor and saw the state as an extension of his fiefdom. He was notorious for his pomposity and outright disdain for others. As a governor, lesser human beings including his commissioners and other top functionaries of government cringed in his presence. They dare not sit whenever the emperor was on the throne. People were just expected to craw before him.

    The prince of the Niger and the Benue was most insensitive to the people he led. He talked down on people, tampered their freedom and pursued an agenda that divided the people than it united them. Salaries and allowances were highly irregular. Civil servants, especially from the Yoruba west and Ebira central were routinely laid off without regard to rules guiding such exercise. At the height of his power, Audu boasted that his party, the then Nigeria People’s Party, NPP would rule the Confluence State for a minimum 25 years. However, the people’s verdict was louder. In the 2003 governorship election, Kogites rejected him as king when they voted for a political neophyte Ibrahim Idris. Four years later, Idris repeated his humiliation. Again, in 2011, the humble pie was forced down the throat of Audu.

    The former banker also carries a deeper sorrow from his sojourn in Lugard House. He is thought to have also helped himself from the common till. His knack for development came with a big price for the communal purse. He was accused of stealing about N12 billion from the state revenue. Audu dribbled the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for years until it’s operatives waylaid and caught him on a street in Jos, the Plateau State capital. He was handcuffed and subsequently arraigned at a court in Lokoja. Proceeds from his looting spree were said to have been used to acquire eye propping property in Potomac USA, Dubai, Abuja and other places. He is still standing trial over the matter.

    Has the former governor learnt his lessons? Not likely. Two weeks ago, while returning from a trip abroad, a large number of supporters were mobilized to Jamaata bridge where they waited several hours for Audu. The long wait was said to have taken a toll on the health of an aged man who collapsed and was rushed to a nearby hospital for revival.

    Audu is a notable politician with insatiable thirst for power. He is a man of uncommon taste for development. He is the father of Kogi State. He likes to be seen as the symbol of Kogi’s development.

    • Idoko writes from Lokoja.
  • N11b refund: It’s arrant nonsense, says Audu

    N11b refund: It’s arrant nonsense, says Audu

    •Melaye, Oyegun meet

    Ex-Kogi State Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Prince Abubakar Audu has dismissed reports credited to the state chairman of the party that he would return N11billion to the state’s coffers if elected.

    A visibly angry Audu told reporters at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja after a closed meeting with the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state wrote the report to discredit him.

    Reports in online media quoted Kogi State APC Chairman, Alhaji Hadi Ametuo, of assuring the people that Prince Audu would return the over N11 billion he allegedly stole while in office, if re-elected.

    Audu, who was confident of winning the election, said: “That is arrant nonsense. It is the PDP in Kogi State that is spreading the rumour and it will not help the members.”

    He said the APC was going round the nooks and crannies spreading its gospel of change, adding that he was confident of winning.

    Audu is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly misappropriating N11 billion of the state’s funds when he was the governor between 1999 and 2003.

    But he denied the report, accusing the commission of window-shopping for a court to convict him. He added that the anti-graft agency took the case to about four courts without obtaining judgment.

    The lawmaker representing Kogi West, Senator Dino Melaye, has held a meeting with the national leadership of the APC led by the national chairman.

    It is believed he was at the secretariat to lobby the leadership on the petition filed against him by Senator Smart Adeyemi challenging his election.

    Those believed to have attended the meeting included Prince Audu, who arrived the party’s secretariat about 4:20pm; the National Vice Chairman (North), Senator Lawal Shuaibu; the Deputy National Chairman (South), Segun Oni; among others.

    The Legislative Election Petition Tribunal has reserved judgment for October 10 in the petition and the party is believed to have remained silent on the case, a situation that is said to be giving him sleepless nights.

    It is believed that Prince Audu was at the secretariat to plead on behalf of Melaye, his campaign manager during the 2011 general election.

    Senator Melaye, however, said he was not at the secretariat because of the tribunal case.

    His words: “What has the party got to do with the tribunal case? This is my party’s national secretariat and I can come here anytime.”

    Former NUJ President Senator Adeyemi is challenging the election of Senator Melaye, saying it was fraught with irregularities and that Melaiye did not participate in the APC primaries where he purportedly emerged as the senatorial candidate.

    Justice Akon Ikpeme last Tuesday fixed October 10 for judgment after the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial of the petition, which was earlier dismissed by the tribunal for lack of merit.