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Tag: KOGI

  • Bello signals a new dawn in Kogi

    Bello signals a new dawn in Kogi

    Bearing all things, there is no doubt that Kogi State has made history today; a new governor has been sworn in; in the person of Alhaji Yahaya Bello. Either by design or commission, providence has brought him to the public lime light.

    I join millions of responsible Kogites to congratulate his Excellency, “Alhaji Yahaya Bello,” his family and his constituents. To me, it is a significant event in that for the first time in the political history of Kogi State, power has moved from the hands of the majority to the minority. It is common experience amongst democratic society that when a minority part of the body come to take power away from the majority part, things get better; things get improved and in most cases, the power is retained longer because of commitment to transparent and productive governance. I hope this will be the case with Yahaya Bello.

    I can say this is the best of all equals for Kogi and its people at this time. While I must commend the efforts of past governors that the state has had, I must also put on record that Kogi State has not experienced the best governance in terms of economic growth and development, social infrastructure, wealth and job creation.

    My agenda therefore for Alhaji Yahaya Bello is very clear; I want to see Kogi State of today launched into local and international investing markets. Opportunities abound in the state which other states in Nigeria are lacking. Ajaokuta Steel Company remains a significant economic growth trigger; Kogi is a strong food basket for the nation (agriculture wise), there is abundance of solid minerals such as coal, mining, etc.

    In the past, I have made efforts to bring my wealth of national and international investments connectivity advantage to Kogi State, but the leadership then was unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel. So, I welcome the new regime to a completely new departure from old political and economic drawing board of the state.

    First, I recommend that he be open minded, an honest explorer and a great marketer of investment opportunities in Kogi State to international investors; he should be a servant of all and not a small god over Kogites, he should build a bridge of peace with all recognizable and respectable community units in the state. He must do away with pride, arrogance, pomposity, self-centeredness and corruption.

    Finally, he should be a governor of vision and fore-sight, given to wisdom, understanding, co-operation, collaboration, consultation and communication. All this constitutes credible road map to better governance and public accountability. In particular, let me draw his Excellency’s attention to the despicable, deplorable and shameful condition of the people of Ibaji community of the state. They are a people without a voice and no one remembers them. Ibaji Local Government is a place increasingly speculated to have rich oil deposit. I think this can be exploited as it is capable of putting the state on the world map of oil producing states.

    Prof. Onalo is the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Credit Administration (ICA).

  • Three suspected robbers set ablaze in Kogi

    Three suspected armed robbers were on Friday set ablaze at Orunu junction in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State by some youths.

    The youths are suspected to come from the adjourning communities of the area where the suspected robbers met their Waterloo.

    An eyewitness said the robbers, numbering five, took over the road and began robbing commuters before the youths appeared on the scene.

    A source said that unknown to them, the villagers who were tired of incessant attacks on the road, which leads to Idah Local Government Area from Lokoja, the state capital, rushed out and descended on them.

    The villagers, said the source, refused to be intimidated by the armed bandits, who were said to be foreigners from a neighbouring African country. He said: “The villagers came out in their numbers and, in the process, seized their guns before crushing three of them to death with heavy stones, clubs and other dangerous weapons. Two of the armed robbers escaped into the bush while three were burnt to ashes after they were given the beating of their lives.”

    A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Ejule community in the area was kidnapped September last year at the spot while returning from a campaign rally in Ugwolawo.

    The Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Williams Aya, who confirmed the incident, said the police discovered three dead bodies on the road. He said that no one was seen at the scene, but the police have commenced investigation into the matter.

  • Kogi: Three suspected armed robbers set ablaze

    Kogi: Three suspected armed robbers set ablaze

    Three suspected armed robbers were on Friday set ablaze at Orunu junction in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State by some youths.

    The youths are suspected to be from the adjourning communities’ ‎ where the suspected robbers met their Waterloo.

    An eyewitness said the robbers, numbering five had taken over the road and began robbing commuters when the youths suddenly appeared on the scene.

    A source said that unknown to them, the villagers who were tired of incessant attacks on the road which leads to Idah Local Government Area from Lokoja the state capital rushed out and descended on them.

    The villagers said the source refused to be intimidated by the armed bandits, who were said to be foreigners from a neighbouring ‎African country.

    According to him: “The villagers came out in their numbers and in the process seized their guns before crushing three of them to death with heavy stones, clubs and other dangerous weapons. Two of the armed robbers escaped into the bush while ‎three were burnt to ashes after they were given the beating of their lives”.

    The Kogi State Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), Williams Aya who confirmed the incident said the police discovered three dead on the road.

    He said nobody was seen at the scene but that the police have commenced investigation into the matter.

  • Still on Kogi conundrum

    SIR: Nature excluded Prince Abubakar Audu from the concluding polls in Kogi State and the All Progressives Congress excluded Hon. James Abiodun Faleke from being its governorship candidate in the make-up election.

    What APC did to Faleke is repugnant to justice according to equity, good conscience and also according to law. We must not lose sight of the fact that Nigeria has a political party system and our laws do not yet recognize independent candidates (like America) nor elections without candidates (like Britain). It therefore follows at logic that any vote cast in our elections is assumed at law to have been cast not only for the political party but also for the candidate. This means that the 240,867 votes cast during the Kogi governorship election on 21 November were for the benefit of the APC and Audu/Faleke as natural persons, who could have lost the election for their party (APC) if Kogi people did not like them or their agenda. Therefore, our electoral laws in their present form demand two broad requirements for the validation of votes in any election. One is that there is a candidate (identifiable in his physical characteristics as an animate person as opposed to a chicken or cow or even a tree); and the second is that a political party must sponsor such candidate.

    In the case at bar, the animate person(s) who met the first requirement were Audu and Faleke, not Yahaya Bello. In other words, the votes cast in the governorship election on 21 November, 2015 cannot be divisible between Audu/Faleke and APC, much less Yahaya Bello. Those votes cannot be transferred to Yahaya Bello either. Audu/Faleke and APC are inseparable and indivisible joint owners of the 240,867 votes cast. Equally, the 6,885 votes cast for Yahaya Bello and the APC. These votes cannot be transferred to Faleke unless the courts regard Bello as an interloper which I assume he is. The courts will of course regard the supplementary election as part of the whole and so the results of the elections on the various dates will be taken together. Wada scored 195,514 plus 5,363 or 200,877 votes. Bello scored 6,885 votes. Audu/Faleke scored 240,867 votes.

    However, because Bello was not validly nominated, his votes should be credited to Audu/Faleke. Yahaya Bello was an invalid candidate on these grounds. First, there is no known law or constitutional provision that allows for the substitution of candidates once the election has commenced. So, the federal attorney general, Abubakar Malami, misled INEC. Second, APC cannot field only one candidate in the person of Bello. It should have presented Bello with a running-mate. Section 187, subsection 1 of the constitution states that a candidate for the office of governor of a state shall not be deemed to have been validly nominated for such office unless he nominated another candidate as his associate who is to occupy the office of deputy governor. APC committed a blunder by not presenting Faleke as its governorship candidate after the death of Prince Audu. Most importantly, Faleke was smart enough not to have accepted to be the running-mate to Yahaya Bello.

    • Nwarima Diala,

    ADC-LAW, Ghana.

  • Kogi’s fate hangs in the balance

    Kogi’s fate hangs in the balance

    Despite the swearing in yesterday of Alhaji Yahaya Bello at the Confluence Stadium in Lokoja, as Kogi State Governor, the state’s future is hanging in the balance – politically and, perhaps, economically.

    Bello mounted the saddle without a deputy. He became the first governor to take the Oath of Office without a second-in-command.

    Observers are asking questions on the legality of such an action.

    James Abiodun Faleke, who was nominated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as his running mate, was several kilometres away from the venue, presiding over another programme. He had earlier declined the running mate offer.

    Bello was drafted into the race by the APC, following the death of Prince Abubakar Audu, who was set to win the governorship poll of November 21, last year and the declaration of the process inconclusive by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The Northcentral state has scored many firsts in less than two months. It made history on November 22, last year as the first state, whose leading governorship candidate died before the conclusion of an election.

    It also recorded another first as a state where a politician would turn down an offer to run as running mate.

    Kogi has also set a record as a state in which a candidate who neither participated in the electioneering process, nor canvassed for votes, has won an election.

    Observers would get answers to their question as the battle shifts to the Election Petitions Tribunal.

    In the next few months, Bello’s administration will be battling a bitter credibility crisis, which will definitely affect his ability to perform –  at a time of grave economic challenges. With the crisis unresolved now, the state’s fate seems uncertain. How Bello will weather the storm remains to be seen.

  • Re: Kogi bites the wrong bullet

    SIR: Our attention has been drawn to a back page January 24 edition of The Nation’s PALLADIUM written by Idowu Akinlotan under the caption “Kogi bites the wrong bullet on inauguration”.

    Governor Yahaya Bello does not want to establish a tradition of responding to every opinion expressed on the pages of newspapers. Like every democrat, Bello believes that people are entitled to their opinions. However, such opinions, no matter how critical, must be predicated on accuracy, fairness and truth. Akinlotan missed these basic rules of journalism in his piece as captioned above thus necessitating this reaction.

    We do not agree with Akinlotan that Alhaji Yahaya Bello has come to inherit a victory that was not his. Rather, we believe that his party, the All Progressives Congress, has rightly nominated him as its choice to conclude the gubernatorial race in Kogi State at the death of its flagbearer the late Prince Abubakar Audu. It is trite knowledge in law that votes belong to the party. It is also trite knowledge that party chooses their candidates. It is therefore awkward, beggarly and mischievous for Akinlotan to assert that Bello is a “mere pawn”.

    It is prejudicial to conclude on what the verdict of the judiciary would be on a matter that is pending before the courts. To say the least, that was an attempt to debase, rubbish and undermine the integrity of our judicial officers. We need to warn that we should not allow our desires and desperation to becloud our sense of decency. We shall therefore not respond to issues pending in the courts in spite of Akinlotan’s preemptive pronouncements on this matter.

    Alhaji Yahaya Bello is a committed member of the All Progressives Congress who will not engage in activities that will bring the party and its leadership to disrepute and opprobrium.  It is also pertinent to state that Bello is a detribalised Nigerian who sees the APC as a party for all; tribe, creed or sex notwithstanding. He is therefore determined to revamp Kogi State from the doldrums. We invite Akinlotan and his co-travelers to join forces with Alhaji Yahaya Bello in taking Kogi State to achieve the desired change. Thus, contrary to Akinlotan’s submission, we make bold to say that in Alhaji Yahaya Bello as governor, Kogi has bitten the right bullet.

     

    • Jude Salau,

    Alhaji Yahaya Bello’s Media Office, Lokoja.

  • Kogi: A state transiting in crisis

    Kogi: A state transiting in crisis

    It is a new dawn as Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC) takes the baton from Idris Wada as Kogi State Governor, ending the 13-year reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s). However, controversy appears to be trailing Bello’s ascension into office. His emergence as the candidate for the supplementary election, following the sudden death of the flag bearer, Abubakar Audu, has polarised the ruling party. As Bello takes the driver’s seat in the Confluence State, Audu’s running mate, James Faleke, is in court protesting what he describes as wrongful substitutions. For the new governor, it is not yet over until it is over, write BUNMI OGUNMODEDE and EMMANUEL OLADESU.

    IT’S no longer news that Alhaji Yahaya Bello will today take the keys to the Lugard Government House in Lokoja from Kogi State Governor Idris Wada.  What is news is that James Abiodun Faleke, whose party – the All Progressives Congress (APC) – fielded as his deputy will not be on the podium to take the oath with him.

    Faleke, who paired with Prince Abubakar Audu in the November 21, last year election, turned down the offer after the demise of Audu, who was set to win the election before it was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on November 22, 2015.

    Faleke said the residual election was unnecessary since the votes being expected from the 91 polling units would be inconsequential. At close of collation on November 22, 2015, the late Audu, who polled 240,867 votes, was leading incumbent Governor Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 199,415, with 41, 452 votes.

    To him, the election had been won and lost and that since it was a joint ticket, the proper thing to do was for the co-pilot to take over the flight following Audu’s death on the day he should have been declared the winner.

    As Bello takes the Oath of Office, Faleke and Mohammed, the eldest son of the late Prince Audu, will be leading members of the Audu political family in Audu’s Abuja home to celebrate the first phase of transition in the Confluence State.

    A source told The Nation that the Abuja party was specifically organised to enable the family celebrate the life and times of the late Audu and his contributions to the state’s political development.

    “We’ll be at the house of our leader in Abuja to show the world that we are not bitter. We’ll be praying for the health of our state and Faleke will be joining us after today’s session at the National Assembly,” the source confided in The Nation yesterday.

     

    A governor and

    his legitimacy crisis

     

    Not a few Nigerians believe the leadership of the APC under its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, erred in its preference to draft Bello into the race after Audu’s demise. They argue that Faleke, who was on the ticket with Audu and who participated actively in all the 35 rallies that earned the APC a resounding victory, ought to have been elevated to conclude the process.

    The PDP candidate had gone to the tribunal to kick against the declaration of Bello as winner of the election, based on the outcome of the December 5, 2015 supplementary poll. Bello polled 6,885 from the 13,000 voters who turned out to vote in 91 polling units across 18 local government areas for the residual election. Wada, whose initial score rose to 204, 877 from 199,415 after the supplementary poll, believes it will be illogical for Bello to be declared the winner. He has asked the Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal to declare him  the winner because as a far as he is concerned, Bello, who, was not on the ballot as at the time he (Wada) polled 199,415 on November 21, 2015, could not dislodge him with 6,885 votes from the supplementary election of December 5, last year.

    The rejection of the running mate slot by Faleke compounds Bello’s legitimacy. On December 1, last year, Odigie-Oyegun convened a stakeholders’ meeting to announce Bello as the party’s replacement for Audu and the retention of Faleke on the ticket as his running mate. He told his audience that the APC decision had been communicated to INEC. Faleke turned down the offer. He documented his rejection to Odigie-Oyegun and INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmud Yakubu.

    In his letter, Faleke urged the party and INEC to treat his memo as a decision “to dissociate myself from this and strange supplementary nomination as the running mate to Bello. This is also to serve as a notice of rejection of the purported and illegal nomination of myself as running mate to Bello.”

    According to Faleke, he was not informed by anybody before his name was forwarded to INEC Bello’s running mate.

     

    Reaping another

    man’s labour

     

    The thinking in some political quarters is that Bello has come to reap where he did not plant. It was learnt that Bello did not show up at any of the campaign rallies that were staged in 35 centres across the state in the run-up to the November 21, 2015 election. Faleke alleged in his letter that “Bello has since the conduct of the primary, abandoned the party, took the party to court and worked for the PDP, thereby causing the party (APC) to lose at his (Bello’s) polling unit and repeated same feat at the ward level where APC scored 1,146 to PDP’s 2,058.” The Audu/Faleke Campaign Organisation described the choice of Bello as Audu’s replacement as the zenith of reward for disloyalty.

    The organisation claimed that a reconciliation meeting convened by the APC leadership after the primaries was spurned by Bello. He claimed that the late Audu had a case with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and that he would not sit on the same table with him. It described as an irony of fate for Bello, who made reconciliation impossible to turn around and inherit the victory of a man he scorned.

     

    A string of litigations

     

    The Kogi Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal is awash with petitions from the various parties, including Labour Party (LP), whose prayer to stop today’s swearing in of Bello as governor was struck out by the tribunal. Wada’s petition is also pending before the panel. He is praying the Tribunal to return him to office based on the simple reason that Bello was not on the governorship ballot ab initio and that votes scored by the late Prince Audu were not transferable. Wada and his party had argued that since the APC candidate died before the conclusion of the election the proper thing for INEC to do was to declare him, as the candidate with the second highest number of votes, the winner. They said the conduct of the supplementary poll was uncalled for.

    The late Audu’s running mate is laying claim to the victory of the Audu/Faleke ticket. He urged INEC to declare him the governor-elect. Faleke said he will not surrender the mandate freely given to the joint Audu/Faleke ticket. He will not be  today’s inauguration.

     

    Failed reconciliation

     

    The Nation learnt that no serious reconciliation took place to resolve the crisis thrown up by the death of Prince Audu and his replacement with Bello.

    A source said the national leadership of the party deliberately shut the doors against the key players in the game.

    “Instead of talking to the real gladiators, the party was busy meeting with Abuja-based politicians who know next to nothing in Kogi politics,” a source told The Nation.

    The source went on: “At a point, the party leadership was discussing with an estranged member of the Audu family. Is that how to dialogue? You cannot shave a man’s head in his absence. That is not possible. Any reconciliation that excludes Faleke and Mohammed cannot pass the credibility test”

    Faleke confirmed the insincerity in the reconciliation. He said the only time the APC National Chairman called him to a meeting was on December 1, when he (Odigie-Oyegun) said his name and that of Bello had been forwarded to INEC as governorship candidate and running mate for the December 5, 2015 supplementary poll.

     

    What’s Bello’s vision?

     

    Bello has come to reap where he did not sow, many have said. Fate has catapulted him to the front burner, although he did not dream of bouncing back after returning to his shell, following his poor showing at the shadow poll. Ambitious politicians should have some lessons to learn from his post-primary disengagement. Instead of embracing hope as the elixir of life, his temporary setback at the primary beclouded his sense of judgment. Having lost the ticket, he resolved to rock the boat. Aggrieved APC chieftains have maintained that Bello has an unrivalled record of anti-party activities during the electioneering. When Audu and Faleke were busy canvassing for votes across the three senatorial districts, Bello played a great role in subverting their efforts. When he was brought back in controversial circumstance to fly the party’s flag during the residual election, his choice as a substitute elicited wild condemnation by loyal chieftains who laboured with Audu on the field. On poll day, Bello’s priority was not to deliver his polling booth, ward and local government to the APC. But, venting his anger on the party over his inability to clinch the ticket, he worked for one of the smaller parties. It is ironical that a distraught politician who undermined the party during the poll that was pronounced inconclusive emerged as the flag bearer during the supplementary exercise.

     

    Journeying to State

    House without

    engaging the electorate

     

    Audu and Faleke had approached the people with their agenda. They came with an impeccable pedigree. Having conducted a survey on the needs of the people, they reeled out their manifestos for the development of the state. For the late Audu, it was an unfinished business. In the Third Republic, he had played a path-finding role as the first elected governor. That was why he was described by observers as the “architect of modern Kogi”.  His running mate, Faleke, is a tested and trusted politician. Having served as a local government chairman, federal legislator and member of the Buhari/Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Committee, he has justified himself as an experienced and loyal chieftain. Both subscribed to the APC manifesto, which they have replicated for Kogi. The Audu/Faleke agenda consists of programmes for the revitalisation of education, industrialisation, job creation, security and infrastructural development. The candidate and his running mate convinced voters to buy into the laudable and ambitious  plans for turning around the state. Stakeholders asked questions from them during the extensive consultations with constituents. Monarchs, community leaders, market women and youths elicited assurances from them that they will take the state to loftier heights. Indeed, there was a pact between Kogi and Audu/Faleke ticket. On the basis of that agreement, people trooped out on November 21, last year to endorse their candidature.

    Curiously, the poll was declared inconclusive by the electoral agency. Up came an impostor foisted on the Kogi APC as the new candidate for the complimentary election. Bello, the emergency candidate, lacked the pedigree of the Audu/Faleke candidacy. Neither was he associated with any clear-cut programme of action. Of course, he was rejected as the shadow poll, underscoring his lack of popularity and acceptability within the party. As Bello assumes the reins, his plans for the state are largely unknown. How he will address the pressing challenges of insecurity, mass unemployment, dispirited civil service, ethnic tension triggered by the fear of marginalisation, low revenue base and decayed infrastructure is in the realm of conjecture. He did not campaign to get votes. There was no meaningful engagement with the diverse people of Kogi. As from today, he is a governor who will start learning the ropes. For anxious Kogites who will now have to adjust to his style of administration, these times are, indeed, challenging.

     

    The lingering cry of

    marginalisation

     

    Since Kogi is transiting in a crisis, it is certain that the governor is not likely to be a symbol of unity in the ruling party and the state. The last one month may have also proved that Bello’s reconciliatory skill is suspect. Although he has the support of the power that be in the APC, he should have honed his social skills to a razor’s edge by making spirited attempts to resolve the crisis foisted on the party by his emergency candidature. No doubt, his emergence as the candidate may have somehow aggravated the ethnic and religious tensions, Bello ought to have moved swiftly to douse the tension, not by flexing muscles with pro-Audu/Faleke forces, but by making passionate appeals to aggrieved colleagues to show understanding for situations that have been described as beyond control.

     

    Can Bello make

    a difference?

     

    Based on his antecedent, can Bello still make a difference? At 40, he is a very agile politician. Youthfulness is an asset. But, it cannot displace experience, exposure and capacity for problem-solving that have been acquired over time.

    Bello will inherit the problems which Audu had hoped to resolve. On the strength of solutions he proposed, the people voted for the APC. It is, therefore, important for the governor to make use of the Audu/Faleke agenda as a starting point.

    The onus is on Bello to unite the polarised ruling party and the state. Today, there is a major crisis in the party and the state. The party is divided over the choice and eventual emergence of Bello as governor. Also, a dangerous signal has been sent to the people of Kogi West, where Faleke hails from, that they are unfit for the number one position on account of being minority and pre-dominantly Christian. This may have implications for peaceful co-existence. Therefore, the activities of some camouflage opinion leaders from the West milling around the governor notwithstanding, Bello has to reconcile with stakeholders from the district.

    Bello is inheriting a budget that mirrors the image of the rejected Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government led by Captain Idris Wada. The budget is not in consonance with the vision of the APC for Kogi. He must learn to work with the House of Assembly, where PDP lawmakers are in the majority. At the initial stage, it may be a hostile legislature being teleguided from outside the state.

    For at least three months, Bello has the burden of litigation hanging on his neck. His administration may be hit by legitimacy crisis as Faleke continues with the legal fireworks at the tribunal and court. Opinion is divided on the legitimacy of Bello’s candidature, following Audu’s death. Many chieftains believe that the APC national leadership has robbed Faleke to pay Bello. Until the case is concluded or there is an out-of-court settlement, the governor’s attention will necessarily be diverted by the litigation.

     

    Infrastructure decay

     

    Kogi is a poor state financially. The onus is on the governor to reduce the cost of governance by blocking loopholes. He is also to invent a creative method of generating revenue because the revenue base cannot sustain the state. However, in a bid to expand the revenue base, more burden should not be imposed on the people who are already being suffocated by the bad policies of previous administrations.

    Infrastructure is a priority. The roads and other public utilities are ebbing away. A total overhauling of the infrastructure is germane to the investment drive because the state cannot be attractive to investors, if the atmosphere is unfavourable.

     

  • Kogi: Because I am involved

    Kogi: Because I am involved

    In a matter of hours, Yahya Bello will be sworn in as Governor of the Confluence State. Thanks to the triumvirate of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress, the good people of Kogi, will be having someone they did not elect to preside over their affairs at least until such a time the judiciary finally decides one way or the other.

    I have said it before, what is playing out in Kogi is worse than travesty; what makes it hard to swallow that this is happening in a supposedly constitutional environment. For no matter what anyone may say, and no matter the attempt by our ever opportunistic politicians to muddle things up, there are too many issues too sticky to live down.

    One of them is the strenuous attempt to override the will of the voters who trooped out to vote on November 21, 2015 to elect a new governor. No matter what holy book the supplanter chooses to swear with, it does not change the fact that the people did not have Bello on the ballot at the point they exercised their franchise last November. Yes, the people voted for APC, but they also trusted the duo of Audu and Faleke to give them their mandates! And that mandate precludes their Bello! This is what APC conveniently forgets. Yes, the party sponsors the candidates, without the candidate, there is no contest!

    And while it is tragic that the APC would seek to elevate its internal party primary over and above an election that was adjudged transparent and fair; surely, INEC, not least the APC supplanter, Bello must know that the so-called December 5, 2015 supplementary poll, which delivered a mere 13,000 votes for a candidate that was not on the original ballot, is at best a case of holding on to thin straw! Tomorrow’s party of inauguration therefore changes nothing!

    And if I may add – APC ought to have realised by now, the futility of its attempt to deny Abiodun Faleke, Prince Abubakar’s running mate, the fruits of their joint victory. For sure, it’s surely going to be a long, dark night for the APC and their anointed one.

    I have heard some so-called stakeholders suggest that the people of Kogi should let things be if only in the spirit of the new-found rapprochement between the West and Central Senatorial Districts both of which have jointly clamoured for power to rotate to them. On the surface, they have a point.

    For those who don’t know, a little background would suffice. The state like many of its counterparts in the federation, sits on a tripod: Kogi West, Kogi Central and Kogi East. Since its creation, the state has been ruled exclusively by the dominant Igala from the East. From 1999- 2003, it was Abubakar Audu followed by Ibrahim Idris 2003-2011, and then Idris Wada 2011-to date. Before the primaries, I understand a lot of work was done by the West and Central to get power to shift in the spirit of equity. Unfortunately, like in previous attempts, those efforts, as valiant as it was, could not break the Igala hegemony. In the end, Audu and Wada both Igalas emerged on the tickets of the APC and PDP.

    And so we had an election in November. And then, Audu the APC candidate who was set to win the election died. At the time of his death, the election was practically concluded save for 91 polling units scattered across the state. Soon after, INEC pronounced the election inconclusive. Not done, a supposedly independent electoral body, with battery of lawyers at their beck, opted to turn to the government’s chief law officer for direction! Nigerians know how the story went: a stranger to the APC ticket was drafted from nowhere to complete an exercise that was as good as delivered! As a result, history was made: a governor elected with 13,000 electors!

    To many, it probably matters not that an election took place on November 21, 2015. It is supposed to matter less still that the election produced a clear outcome – 240,867 votes for the APC ticket of Abubakar Audu and James Abiodun Faleke, and 199,415 for the outgoing team of Idris Wada and Yomi Awoniyi of the Peoples Democratic Party. Aside not being on the ticket, we are supposed to forget that the claim by Yahya to the gubernatorial office was that he took part in a primary which he lost! For now, law, justice and public policy are meant to count for nothing since the end – power shift – has more than justified the patent INEC-aided impunity!

    That is the tragedy in the Confluence State.

    What the future portends for the state is hard to tell at this stage. It seems to me that the story has only just begun. The state is certainly in for a long night. For a state that has been in perpetual stasis, development will, for sure, be on hold. Trust the resurgence of old animosities and cleavages in a state that has had its own fair share of security troubles.

    A state where primary school teachers were on forced holidays for more than a year because they could not be paid; a state where workers salaries are a privilege rather than a right. I have written on this page of the experience of hell on the highways; henceforth, citizens can brace up for the worst. All of this because INEC not only chose to surrender its independence, but sacrificed principles for expediency.

    For the good people of Kogi, it seems a case of the father eating the sour grapes, with the children’s teeth set on the edge. It is an unenviable position to be in.

  • Bello: New dawn in Kogi

    Bello: New dawn in Kogi

    Barring any last-minute judicial pronouncement, Alhaji Yahaya Bello will be inaugurated as the governor of Kogi State tomorrow. Correspondent TONY AKOWE writes on the intrigues, the interplay of forces and the expectations of the people about the new dawn.

    Many  have described it as power shift by divine intervention. But, one thing is certain, history beckons as Yahaya Bello will be inaugurated as the governor of Kogi State on Wednesday. He will be the youngest person to rule the state and the first elected governor from outside the Igala-speaking ethnic group that has been producing governors.

    His  emergence as the governor-elect did not come without its challenges. He lost the primary election organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the late Prince Abubakar Audu. He came second. But, he is a child of destiny. Although many saw his defeat at the primary as a setback, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for him. Audu died before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the election inconclusive. This threw the party into confusion.  But, INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation tactically cleared the way, allowing the APC to substitute its candidate with Bello, because he was the first runner-up at the primary. He participated in the supplementary election from a position of advantage. Bello won the residual poll. However, until the suits against him by aggrieved APC members and the PDP are disposed of by the Supreme Court, Bello will have no respite and his administration, to many,  will lack legitimacy.

    At 41, Bello  will be one of the youngest governors. He is assuming the reins at a time many states are strugling to pay workers’ salaries and pensions. The question many people are asking is:  can he make a difference in Kogi State? Although the Buhari administration  is championing the cause of national revival and rebirth, the same story cannot be said of the states that go cap in hand to Abuja on a monthly basis for hand outs from the Federation Account. However, many people believe that the Kogi State is in dire need of a rebirth. This will no doubt put a huge burden on the shoulders of Bello as he steps into the Lugard House, the seat of power. The governor-elect is not unaware of these challenges and the huge burden he will be inheriting from past government.

    Some stakeholders believe that Bello’s emergence will bring  development to the state. Among those who hold this belief are those who contested the primary with Bello and Audu. They believe that Bello has the potentials to take the state to greater heights. Veteran journalist Yakubu Mohammed said the people expected him to be an agent of change. He said: “We are expecting change in Kogi State because that is what brought him to the position. I think the change mantra would continue in Kogi State. When we are talking about change, it should be change from the old way of doing things to new ways of doing things and the expectation are very high.

    “I didn’t know much about him, until we did primary election together. If you remember, I contested the primary that was supposed to produce the governor of Kogi State. I have aspired to be governor of the state myself and so. I should have an idea of what the people of Kogi are looking for. They are yearning for good leadership, rapid development, equity, Justice and fair play. From his motto of fair plus, we expect that he is going to be fair to all segments of Kogi State and take all the people from the three senatorial district as his own because is going to be the fair of all the people in the state.

    “He should look at the pitfalls that befell his predecessors and avoid them and achieve development, shifting the focus from collecting allocations from Abuja to rural development, agricultural development and provide jobs for the teeming youths of the state who are hanging a looking for handout from anybody they can find. Once there is change, let it be for good and not that the change should takes backward. It should take us forward. My appeal is that all Kogi indigenes and non indigenes who live and earn their living from Kogi State should cooperate with him and ensure that there is smooth over and also ensure there is sustainable development in place and let them all queue in it”.

    A former aspirant, Dr Habeeb Yekeen, said: “The first thing is that I wish him the very best. He is throne the party has picked and I believe in party supremacy. As a result of that, we need to support him and we are giving him all the necessary support. Kogi state has gone into a level that require very serious administration and Yahaya Bello alone cannot do it and he should realize it and put together a very serious think tank that can help him. He should be careful and not just pick people who are just going around him because they are looking for position or they are looking for something from him. He should look for people who have the ability to form the think tank.

    “Also, in choosing those who will work with him. In his executive, he should also do the same thing by getting people who have something to offer. He should not just give appointment because somebody supported him or has been visiting him. It will be very difficult to govern a state that has witnessed maladministration over the years, a state that is very much indebted and workers on strike because salaries has not been paid for months. It therefore means that tough strategies is what need to be put in place. He should look for the right people and we will be willing to give him all the necessary support that he may demand from us”.

    An aspirant, Alhaji Sulaiman Baba Ali, said Bello administration will be a complete departure from previous governments. He said: “As somebody who ran against him in the primary, I had the opportunity of meeting him when all the aspirants had a meeting  and we were able to talk and interact at different times. I believe that we are going to have governance unusual. This is going to be a completely different ball game from what we are used to in a very positive manner. I am so sure about that. He is a very young man and about the youngest among all of us, who ran for the primary then and God, in His infinite mercies, decided that he will be the governor.

    “Inspite of what anybody may think or whatever out individual desires may be, I think there is a message there and the message is for Kogi, that there is a change that is going to come and it will be in the interest of all of us to queue behind him, support him and make him succeed. I think he has a fair understanding of what the issues are and I can see that the kind of passion that drove some of us into that race, he share the same passion with us. I am upbeat in my expectations and I think we are going to see a new Kogi in the coming days, in the coming months and in the coming years”.

    Former Managing Director of Daily Times Dr. Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba, lamented the rot in the Kogi State, urging the incoming government to be creative and innovative in its revenue drive. Onukaba, who was an aspirant, said: “Kogi is in a huge mess. Workers are owed months of salary arrears. Roads in the state are in deplorable condition. The public school system, especially at primary school level, has almost collapsed. The state capital, Lokoja, is about the dirtiest city in the country. There is mistrust and suspicion among the constituent groups over recent political developments and over perceived marginalization of some groups in the state. All these have to be addressed urgently. I do not envy anyone taking over at this time. There is so much work to do. The state has not witnessed much development in the last 16 years.  We have got to carry out a thorough staff audit to know if state workers are actually 28,000 and if we really need all of them. We need to begin fixing critical roads, bridges, schools and healthcare centres. The incoming administration must be creative and innovative in its drive for revenue. It must raise internal revenue to the level where it can pay recurrent expenditure.

    “The new government must embark on reconciliation of all Kogites. The people of the state are right now divided and suspicious of one another. The new governor should be a peace maker, a unifier, and a serious leader. Kogi is in crisis. A period of crisis portends danger and opportunity. He can turn this crisis into an opportunity for KOGI’s rebirth through good governance and exemplary leadership”

    A member of the APC Board of Trustees (BoT), Dr. Sanusi Abubakar, said Bello must resolve the acrimony and sentiments across the state and ensure that it becomes a thing of the past. He said: “Let me say that the struggle for power shift in Kogi state has come a long way and a lot of people have died in the struggle. But God gives power to who He wish to give power to  and Hod in. His infinite mercies has given him that power. It is my prayer that the God that has given him this power will give him the wisdom to pilot the affairs of the state and take the state to enviable height because he needs a lot of prayers.

    “Secondly, it is expected that if he is able to perform credibly well, in future all the acrimony, struggle and sentiments that pervade the state will cease to be because a lot of people will now see the need to chooser the best for the state and not along tribal line. It is our prayer that he will not let us down. He knows the burden and what is ahead and so, the expectations are high and being a young man, he. Should be able to wake up and work tirelessly to ensure that what he has so struggled for and eventually gotten is used well”.

    Former Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Dr. Tom Adaba said Bello will be coming on board at a time when there is so much disaffections in the state. He stressed: “There has been a lot of ill feelings and misgiving about the marginalisation of the people and everybody, including the Igallas felt there was the need for a change. If the change now comes, we believe that it is meant for our good. The young man has quite a few things going for him. He is sufficiently enlightened and is digitally sound. He has quite some connections in his business world that we  believe will considerably impact on whatever developmental programmes he has for Kogi State.”

    Adana said people have high expectations about the new government. He added: “We believe that his intentions for the state which we see as genuine could help us a great deal in moving this state on to the next level. We have lived in a primitive setting for too long and Kogi does not deserve that especially because of the advantage we have, Kogi being a hub of activities that link up Abuja and being a border to about nine or en states. These are advantages we can take. Lokoja being an old city that has a history behind it.

    “There are certain things here that could easily serve as tourist attraction for the whole of the country and beyond. None of those things have been tapped at all. Kogi state is bountifully blessed with mineral resources which has not been tapped until now and every month, we go cap in hand to the federal government to ask for salaries and handout. We believe that we can be self sufficient and I believe that h his creativity, his strength and his ability, he will be able to make the difference in ensuring that in one or the other,we will be ready to go in die rent direction. These are the areas that I am looking at and I think that all of us in this state will be at an advantage with his coming on board. We are believing that young energetic man who is coming at the helm of affairs will look into all these aspects”.

    A community leader in Olamaboro Local Government Area, Dr. E. S Abah, said Bello will work for the advancement of the state. He said:  “Bello will get rid of all these nonsense about inequality and unify us the more and equity is going to rule. We have high hopes for what he is going to do and we are are he will put his wherewithal in getting Kogi State great and unified in the future. So, we have high hopes in his government and we are all willing to work with Yahaya Bello in this new horizon so that we can live at peace”

    Bello’s associate Hon. Enema Paul said the governor-elect described has a vision to salvage the people from what he described as the “doldrums of poverty.” He added: “He is somebody with a high spirit; he believes that Kogi must be better and that every Kogite must live a life that is up to standard. He is somebody that will never steal the money of Kogi state. The wealth of Kogi State is not for one person or for one family and Bello will make judicious use if the wealth of Kogi state in a way that it will touch every life. Kogites have suffered. We have no roads and nothing to show for it and teachers are on strike. I have personally gone to the none local government in the eastern part of the state and have done an assessment of their educational life style, the health life style, their source is drinking water. Every thing is poor, even as far as the home of the outgoing governor. There is not even a bore hole. You need to go to the schools and you will find out that they are all dilapidated. You see our children on the floor. When they are sitting on the floor, how can they concentrate?

    “Bello is god because the Bible says whoever is a child of God is God. He came divinely, even though we worked hard for it. Bello came as a nobody, as a first timer who was never seen as a moving train. Nobody saw him as a force. But, we have laid our lives, people called us names because we saw the future of the state. God sees our heart, we prayed fervently that His will be done. I have always told people that the late Prince Abubakar Audu had no pride, but is somebody that loved good thing. If you give the definition of pride to an Igalla man because he has taste, an Igalla man will say you have pride. Look at the state capital, it is so dilapidated, with very poor road network. What have they been doing? Ibro did his best and it was total failure and Wada came and made it worse. Why can’t we have good road network? Why must we came into Kogi State and if looks like we are entering one village. They said they have given Lokoja people great water work. “But as far as Bello is concerned, Kogi people will smile because his mandate is divinely given and will be divinely protected. I am an Igalla man. When Bello never believed in this, I will always tell him, sir, you will become governor, but I don’t know how it will happen. Even when we came second in the primary, it surprised everybody that we got over 400 votes from the eastern part of the state and this showed that the Igalla too are tired of the fact that they have been doing it for several years and yet, we are the most disadvantaged people in the state. The best that will happen to the people of Kogi state has come. Bello came divinely and his office is divinely protected. When I see people fighting God, it makes me laugh. Kogi people need to smile, our schools need to be opened for good. Bello is not coming to share money for everybody, but to bring people that have the love of Kogites at heart. Kogi must be greater than the past. The Bible says that our latter will be related than our former. I refer to our past governors as our former, Bello has come and it will be greater and better for the people of Kogi State. We will all enjoy and smile and the best will definitely happen and after four years, we will beg him to come back for another four years. With the blueprint of Kogi state he has has at hand, I can assure you that you will see magic in the first 100 days in office. You will see realities and call them magic”.

    Senator Dino Melaye, who is the Chairman of the Inauguration Committee, said the expectations are very high. Melaye said that past administration succeeded in milking the state dry and leaving it as a glorified local government. The people of the state he said expects the governor to hit the ground running and begin to put smiles on the faces of the people of the state.

    Bello is unaware of he high expectations. He was quoted as saying that Kogi was bleeding as a result of the mismanagement. He said “We would correct all this. Going by the manifesto of our party of diversifying the economy of our country, we equally want to look inwards as a state by improving our IGR (Internally Generated Revenue). What are those areas that are currently being tapped and those that are not tapped? Is what is being tapped maximally utilised? We also want to block all leakages that exist now. Kogi State cannot be sitting on a gold mine and we are where we are today. We also want to look into the educational sector because at present it is seriously down. We want to completely overhaul it. In the health sector, our women and children are dying, that is going to be taken seriously. As for job creation, we cannot continue to employ as a state government. We must create that enabling environment for investors to come in and as such a lot of jobs would be created. Agriculture is going to be of serious priority. We are also going to partner with the Federal Government as well as get foreign and local investors to tap into our mineral resources because we don’t have the exclusive right of tapping into these resources.

    As Bello takes the mantle of leadership, Nigerians are eager to see how he will translate his electoral promises into concrete development for the people.

  • Kogi killer cop dismissed

    Kogi killer cop dismissed

    The Kogi State Commissioner of police, Mr. Besan Gwana has confirmed the dismissal of Cpl. Onoja John from the police force, over his alleged shooting of a tanker driver along the Okene-Lokoja road, last week Thursday.

    The CP who said that the IGP frowns at acts such as the shooting of any Nigerian by a policeman, said the accused had undergone orderly room trial, dismissed and will soon be charged to court.