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Tag: KOGI

  • ‘APC ‘ll emerge victorious in Kogi’

    ‘APC ‘ll emerge victorious in Kogi’

    Dr Tom Ohikere is the Director of Media, Prince Abubakar Audu Campaign Organisation. In this interview with reporters in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, he speaks on the determination of the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag bearer to wrestle power from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the governorship election holding on November 21.

    What is your impression of the turnout at the APC governorship campaign rallies so far?

    The governorship rally which commenced officially on Tuesday, September 29, 2015 in Anyigba has been enjoying very large turnout of people in the various axis visited so far. With the positive response from people, the party and other keen observers believe is a strong sign that APC will emerge victorious at the forthcoming governorship poll come November 21, 2015.

    The APC standard flag bearer, Prince Abubakar Audu has assured the people of the state of his commitment to the needs and yearnings of the state in all sectors of the economy and even the social wellbeing of the entire populace. In the course of the campaign so far, he urged Kogites at every rally to disregard in totality the rumour from certain quarters that he is returning for revenge. He said the job of rescuing Kogi State from collapse and developing it to a world class society is more important to him and any true son and daughter of the state, and not vengeance or anything outside the good interest of the state. Prince Abubakar Audu and his running mate, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke always take every opportunity they have to educate Kogites and expose them to reasons why they should vote for the APC by November 21st.

    Going by the arrangements of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the relevant security agencies to protect the electorates on the day of election, Prince Abubakar Audu admonished all qualified registered voters to come out en masse on the day of election assuring them that the security operatives are capable of handling all miscreants and those whose interest is to disrupt peaceful process of the exercise.

    As we carry on rally in the three senatorial districts, we have visited the traditional rulers and the traditional rulers have given strong indications of their support for the return of Prince Abubakar Audu.

    So far so good, our campaign has been encouraging, hopeful and improving, day in, night out. The momentum is fast hitting.

    As a former commissioner in the last PDP administration, why did you leave the party?

    You will recall that in February 2013, precisely two days to the last local government election held in this state, I formally withdrew from the Peoples Democratic Party to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), before the migration of ACN as one of the legacy parties into the APC. I had since retired from the PDP because of what I saw (Governor) Wada started doing; the high level of directionless of the administration at that time, I had to resign. I have never believed in the PDP since Ibro (former governor Ibrahim Idris) left.

    During the build-up to the APC governorship primary, you were in the forefront of the agitation for power rotation. Have you jettisoned that idea?

    No. I have never even had commitment to power rotation in the last six months than now. I belief strongly in power rotation even as I am working with Prince Abubakar Audu. I belef more in Igbira agenda, not only power rotation. It was the course of Igbira agenda that made me to work for Fairplus (Alhaji Yahaya Bello).

    Igbira agenda, to me, has many faces. One of the faces of Igbira agenda is power rotation to either West or my place, Central. The other content to Igbira agenda is the infrastructural development of Igbira land, the youth empowerment of Igbira people, so that they will be playing politics devoid of these violence and thuggery, the completion of Ajaokuta Steel Company and the rescicitation of Itakpe Iron Ore Mining Company.

    If we struggled up to the level of the APC primary election at the stadium the other week; from my group, the Fairplus group, we did a good job, but for some obvious reasons, which I could tag, self-infliction’ from my people, we failed. We produced second, third and fourth. If these three aspirants would have come together and cooperated, particularly with the strongest aspirant among them, which was Fairplus, it would have been a good time for us to achieve power rotation, but leadership is an act of God. We prepared so well but God said that our our agenda was not going to be achieved there.

    I am a party man and a good sports man. There will be a winner and a loser. I cannot leave my party, or the protection or promotion of my party because we failed at the stadium. I cannot fight God. In politics it’s always a gathering of varied interest and what follows is scrambling of interests; coming together, fighting together, everybody trying to achieve his or her own aim, and what follows is crisis of interest, because in the course of the scrambling, one person or the other would have emerged winner and there would be crisis. In contemporary politics what is expected of you to be done immediately is realignment of interest.

    So, as a party person, I had to realign myself with the reality on the ground, the reality that God has made Prince Abubakar Audu the winner and I have to support him. So, I have not jettisoned power rotation, I have never believe more in power rotation than now. Power rotation which is being covered under the Igbira agenda can be more prosecuted and better achieved under the APC and Prince Abubakar Audu. So, it is still in the course of Igbira agenda that I am standing here. I have not left it.

    There is the complain that the APC governorship running mate is an outsider. What is your take on this?

    Except somebody that has not been following the history of politics in Kogi State. You will agree with me that Ibro came from outside to become governor of Kogi State, Wada came from outside to become governor of Kogi State, they were never practically part of the struggle in this state before they became governors, not even deputy this time. What APC was looking for was a deputy with competence, capacity and character. It is even possible for the party to go to the moon to get this person who has these three qualities. You have even forgotten the fact that Chief Faleke is a citizen of Kogi State, from Ijumu. He went to school in AMCO (Abdulazeez Attah Memorial College) in Okene, for five years, he had his primary school in Ijumu, in Ekirin-Adde there, he’s been an active player in the socio-economic life of Ekinrin-Adde. His house that I visited in that town a few days ago is an old house. Going back to some history, you will discover that even some of the senators that we had fielded, even the present governor had no home in Kogi before he became governor. Some senators had no home here before they became senators. They had nothing here to show; they were not even living here, they were not participating in anything here, they just jumped in and won election and won and after some years maybe they decided to now have places here. Faleke differs here on this ground. He is a full blooded citizen of Kogi who has been involved in the socio-economic life of the people of Ijumu and has even been involved in the political decision of Ijumu local government. Somebody that has served in the Centre of Excellence, as council chairman twice and was chairman of chairmen in Lagos State, and he’s representing them again in the House of Reps. A frontline player; he was the Director of Buhari Campaign Organization in Lagos in the last presidential campaign.

  • Buhari to Kogi electorates: Vote for change, progress

    Buhari to Kogi electorates: Vote for change, progress

    Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Kogi State, President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the people of the state to opt for change and development by voting  for the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Prince Abubakar Audu.

    President Buhari made the call  at the APC governorship campaign rally held at the Confluence Stadium, Lokoja, Wednesday.

    He said the time for change in Kogi has come.

    The President, who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo,  noted that Nigeria is already moving forward and Kogi State must not be left behind.

    Earlier, the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, officially received some PDP chieftains, including 15 elected council chairmen, Senior Special Advisers and Special Advisers who defected to the party.

    Oyegun assured them of equal opportunity in the APC, urging them to work for victory on Saturday.

    He said the exercise required the collective responsibility of all to vote for change for the overall development of Kogi State, noting that the APC candidate, Prince Audu remains the best option at this critical moment in the history of the state.

    He said Audu has record of development, adding that “he has done it before and he will do it again.”

    Audu implored the people to vote enmass for the APC to rescue the state from  PDP.

    The former chairman of North Central of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Comrade Mohammed Ali, who spoke on behalf of other defectors, said they have decided to join the progressives, commending the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was on the podium, for championing the progressive cause in Nigeria.

    He assured the APC leader that as youth leaders, they will deliver Kogi to APC on Saturday.

     

  • INEC begins PVC distribution in Kogi

    INEC begins PVC distribution in Kogi

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun the distribution of permanent voter cards (PVCs) to newly-registered voters in Kogi State.

    The Head of Department, Voter Education, INEC Office, Lokoja, Mr. Daniel Kure,  in an interview yesterday in Lokoja with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the PVC distribution, which started on November 14, would continue till November 20, adding that there were over 47,000 newly- registered voters in the 21 local governments.

    He urged voters to visit INEC offices in their councils to collect the PVCs to enable them participate in Saturday’s election.

    Kure said a stakeholders’ meeting would hold today at Riverton Hotel, Lokoja, by 10 am.

    He said the dignitaries expected included the INEC Chairman, Mr. Yakub Mahmoud, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase and the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen. Johnson Olawumi.

  • Glo Slide ‘n’ Bounce concert in Kogi

    Glo Slide ‘n’ Bounce concert in Kogi

    Thousands of students of Kogi State University, Ayingba, and residents of the surrounding communities, at the weekend, trooped out for the Glo Slide ‘n’ Bounce music concert.

    The venue was the popular Habour Bay Hotel in the town.

    The guests expressed appreciation to Globacom for making it possible for them to experience the wave-making concert.

    As is customary with the Slide ‘n’ Bounce concert, Globacom allowed budding talents to showcase their ability at the show.

    Ayingba proved there was a lot of such talents in the community as students of the university, who participated in dancing, singing and Fine Girl, a beauty pageant, performed well.

    Those who performed included MC Water, Carmelo Drago, Gifted Dancers, Raheem Biko, Phat Prince, OC Green, Kezy Swift, Mareez, Sky V, Lethel Teding and Jeezzy.

    The dance competition was won by Sanni Shittu Temitope of the Department of Banking and Finance, while Popoola Segun of History Department and Amuju Marzuqat of Mass Communication Department won the singing and the Fine Girl competitions.

    Afrobeat star and Glo ambassador Burna Boy thrilled the crowd with his energetic dance steps as his baritone voice reverberated throughout the speakers.

    He rendered his hit tracks, such as: O fe se lu and Who no know me.

    Another Glo ambassador and rap artiste, Jude Abaga, popularly called MI (Mr Incredible), brought the show to an end with a superlative display.

  • Kogi CJ advocates constant training for judicial officers

    Kogi CJ advocates constant training for judicial officers

    The Chief Judge of Kogi, Justice Nasir Ajanah (CON) has called for the constant training and re-training of judicial officers, including the area of Internet Computer Technology (ICT) to enhance their capacity and efficiency in the administration of justice.

    Ajanah made the call while declaring open a 10-day induction seminar/workshop for newly appointed magistrates, Area Court judges and Registrars at the state High Court complex, Lokoja.

    The Chief Judge described the job of judicial officers as onerous and therefore requiring of up-to-date skills, knowledge and instinct that would enable them perform optimally and efficiently in the
    dispensation of justice.

    Ajanah who noted that the programme for new magistrates (seven) and Area Court judges (12) and three Registrars in the state as the first of its kind, said magistrates were before now appointed and sent out without proper training, a practice he observed as being
    counter-productive.

    “You are going to be faced with a lot of criminal cases so it is important for you to know how important it is for you to conduct yourselves in such a way that will bring honour to your profession.
    You will have to know how to access electronic evidence and use it. You are going to be dealing with cases with some involving electronic mails or even telephone sms,” he said.

    He urged them to abide by their Code of Conduct and maintain cordial relationship with the registry.

    According to the Chief Judge, the training which is expected to last from November 16 to 25, would cover Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Code of Conduct, Relationship with the Bar and court procedures among others.

    It will be recalled that the Chief Judge last week, and with approval of the state Judicial Service Commission appointed seven new magistrates and 12 Area Court judges following vacancies created by
    retirements and death among others.

    Responding on behalf of the participants, Ms. Rashidat Adinoyi expressed gratitude to the state judiciary for the appointment and training opportunity.

  • Kogi will seal its fate on Saturday one way or the other

    Kogi will seal its fate on Saturday one way or the other

    In six days, Kogi State will banish its vacillations and vote for one of the two leading candidates in the governorship election. The choice is between Governor Idris Wada, who is rounding up his first term, and former governor Abubakar Audu. One was a pilot, and the other a banker and accountant. The first a commoner, so to say, and the second a prince as a matter of fact. In stark ways, the two candidates are different, but for the electorate, the difference between them is blurred, and the choice difficult and foreboding. If they vote Governor Wada, whom his supporters describe as friendly, sensitive and easygoing, they will have voted continuity, conservatism and extreme mediocrity in line with his four-year record. But if they cast their ballots for Prince Audu, whom his opponents dismiss as uncouth, proud and abrasive, his antecedents as a rough-hewn and impatient moderniser show they will be voting for radical change and rapid infrastructural transformation.

    The choice facing Kogi is indeed inelegant. They are in short being called upon to vote with their heads or with their hearts, to buy a house for its bold and brilliant painting or for its structural integrity; to determine whether they prefer the scaffold or the building, or beauty instead of character. Left to most Kogites, they would have preferred either a Wada with the transformative proclivity of an Audu, or an Audu with the gentle manners of the accommodating and forgetful Wada. Instead, they will pick one with all his warts, and they will groan and squirm in making that choice. But needs must when the devil drives. On Saturday, barring last minute changes and shuffles, a majority of Kogites will half vote All Progressives Congress (APC) and half vote Prince Audu, the former because they are accustomed to casting their lot with the ruling party in Abuja, and the latter because their instincts tell them only the prince can rouse the state from its somnolence and retardation. In both cases, Prince Audu will be the winner.

    In the view of a significant number of Kogi voters, Governor Wada has demonstrated how terribly limited his range is: in imagination, scope of projects, and vision. He may not have disquieted the state with insensitive and dismissive comments, nor lathered it with the haughty grandstanding common with proud and impatient rulers, but in four detached years, he has almost moulded the state into a sepulchral pit of dry ideological bones, broken inner city roads and highways, and moribund factories. If he is to be rewarded with another four years, as he and his supporters have campaigned, it will not be because he had done well, but because Kogites had suspended reason. In short, the chances of reelecting the frequently amnesiac and absentee Governor Wada are not half as bright as the chances of electing a boisterous Prince Audu. For though the prince has not often talked peaceably with the people, he had outpaced all his successors in the practical art of governance and projects execution.

    In their campaigns round the state, the APC ticket of Prince Audu and Abiodun Faleke has made tremendous impact in mobilising the electorate. More Kogites have defected to the APC than have crossed over to the lines of Governor Wada’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The one-way movements have made sense. A few months ago, the contest was billed to be a close one. But fortuitously for Prince Audu, the seemingly dithering APC in Abuja has managed to assemble a cabinet that appears capable of inspiring the nation. The Buhari stock has never really gone down nationally, let alone in Kogi State which gave him a thunderous approbation in the March presidential poll. Now, that stock is high and on the rise, just days before the Kogi poll. Whether in Kogi East, West or Central, it is now more than ever likely that voters will speak with one voice; but if not with one voice, then with dissenting voices rendered in whispers — barely audible, barely significant.

    In the substantial rally the APC held last week in Okene, Kogi Central, a senatorial district previously thought to be either non-committal or outrightly opposed to the APC, the crowd surprisingly warmed up to the piddling soapbox histrionics of campaigning APC leaders. Other than perhaps the animated bombast of Edo governor Adams Oshiomhole, no one had the rhetorical fluidity or charisma to rouse the people into a frenzy. President Muhammadu Buhari is being pressured to bow to the nonsensical argument by PDP politicians to dissociate himself from the Prince Audu campaign on account of the EFCC case against the challenger. It is expected that the president will resist that strange and indefensible pressure not to be in Lokoja, Kogi State for the final rally. He will know that if he doesn’t go to Lokoja, he will be sending the inadvertent message he is contemptuous of his party’s choice, and that the PDP can as well have the state — as if the president can guarantee the rectitude of past and present PDP governors in the state. Given his cult following in Kogi, should the president campaign for Prince Audu, it will probably trigger a walkover for the APC. But whether the president makes a campaign appearance in Kogi or not, the outcome of the election is not in doubt. Governor Wada has not done anything to deserve to win; and Prince Audu has mercifully not said anything to deserve to lose.

    Moreover, throughout his time in office, Prince Audu’s government received less than N20bn from federal allocation, with which he founded a university and a polytechnic, and built a modern commissioners’ quarters, new and vital road arteries, Confluence Hotel, and many other significant projects. On the contrary, the two PDP governors of Kogi collected over N500bn in about 12 years and ended up grounding the state with nothing substantial to show for the money. Given the massive defections from the PDP, it appears the message has gone out loud and clear that the state’s PDP governors were an unmitigated disaster. Instead of a narrow victory, the APC is more likely to achieve a rout on Saturday, despite fears the PDP is rumoured to be buying voter cards and may be planning to use violence to disrupt polling, just as it imprudently wanted to use the bailout money — N50bn, the highest in the country — to sway votes.

  • Kogi: Anxiety as Audu squares up to Wada

    Kogi: Anxiety as Audu squares up to Wada

    Saturday, November 21, 2015 governorship poll in Kogi State is six days away. Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, in this report on the final lap of the preparations, explores the source of the anxiety in the state ahead the election

    There is tension in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital and in most of the communities in the confluence state. The Nation investigation during the week confirms increased anxiety amongst the electorates and the candidates as the Saturday, November 21, 2015 Kogi State Governorship Election approaches.

    Some observers said the major cause of the anxiety in the state remains the age-long political rivalry of the candidates fielded by the two leading political parties in the election, the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the major opposition in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Idris Wada and Former Governor Abubakar Audu, respectively.

    Although Wada of PDP and Audu of APC are not the only candidates in the election, majority of the people who confirmed the tension said their presence in the race is the major source of concern to stakeholders and observers alike.

    According to two PDP stakeholders, Alhaji Abdulmalik Ibrahim and Alhaji Ahmed Jumoh from Ibira and Kabba areas respectively, who spoke to us on Thursday, the tension in their areas, and indeed in most communities in the state, is because apart from the political influence and connection of the two political rivals; there is the feeling that APC, though still in the opposition in the state, has suddenly become so popular that even in Lord Lugard House there seems to be the fear that APC has emerged a rival that cannot be taken for granted in the state. Ahmed explained that this fear is partly attributable to the kind of intrigues that trailed the organisation of PDP’s primary election and the emergence of Governor Wada notwithstanding the deep disagreement amongst some powerful stakeholders over his candidature.

    He said that after PDP lost Wada’s ward and local government to APC during the last presidential election, “many of our leaders openly opposed the governor’s candidacy. This sentiment notwithstanding, Wada got 709 votes to defeat Jubril Isa Echoho, who scored 139 votes at the party’s primary election held at Lokoja Stadium. Since then, things have not been the same here. This is also one of the reasons we are particularly worried that PDP leaders in the state may not have been fully reconciled before this election.”

    Also, some Audu’s supporters, who spoke with The Nation during the week, boasted that they are certain the APC candidate will dethrone the incumbent governor and his party, the PDP, even as they alleged that the crack in the party, which followed disagreements over Wada’s emergence, cannot be resolved before Saturday’s election. “While we are going to this election as a united and enthusiastic family, PDP is mortally disadvantaged because of deep seated anger and resolve by offended members to avenge the party leadership,” said Ozigi, who described himself as a staunch APC supporter.

    Another supporter of Audu had also said, shortly after the controversial postponement of the PDP primary election, that PDP is not likely to recover from the resultant crack, when he said, “You can see the reason for our jubilation. There really is no way out of this disaster for the PDP and we can start getting ready to move into Lugard House come January 2016.”

    Feelers from Wada’s camp however show that both the governor and PDP leaders behind him are not intimidated by the enthusiasm in the camp of Audu’s APC. “What nonsense are you talking about? Kogi indigenes are not foolish enough to even contemplate changing a winning team, Alhaji Isah Marka retorted. He added that the alleged crack within PDP has since been resolved and that “the Kogi electorates, who have seen the dividends of democracy under Wada’s leadership, will certainly reward him by ensuring his re-election.”

    Other fears over the election

    The denial aside, observers confirmed that the election promises to be dicey. The fear is not limited to the cat and mouse relationship of the two leading candidates and political parties. There were fears also expressed over the preparedness of the electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had, a month ago warned that INEC, as constituted then, lacked the power to fix dates for election and to conduct them.

    In a statement Falana said then that the electoral commission was then constituted by two national commissioners and therefore cannot take any valid decision.

    “In other words, as the INEC is not validly constituted as required by section 159 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, its decisions are liable to be set aside,” he said, adding, “Even when the INEC was constituted by a chairman ?and three other national commissioners in 2010, the Federal High Court held that the electoral body was not competent to take any decision.”

    Apart from this, which an official in INEC said had since been taken care of; there are other issues that an insider said must be giving the major candidates some sleepless nights.

    One of them is the power shift issue. Until Wada and Audu’s emergence as flag bearers of their parties, keen observers had identified power shift agitation as a decisive factor in the Kogi election. With Audu and Wada now the leading candidates, the belief is that the quest may have been consigned to 2019. That notwithstanding, the candidates are eager to see how the seemingly postponement of the quest will affect the turn out on Saturday and the result of the election.

    Another major fear amongst the leading candidates, we gathered, is how they fared in the performance debate during the campaigns. Since Wada the current governor and Audu the former governor have had opportunities of serving the people, the debate over how the fared dominated the campaign. Most of the electorates that spoke during the week said the result of the election would be determined by the people’s conviction on how the two leaders impacted on the lives of the common people and the state when they occupied the Government House.

    Campaign directors of the two candidates swore they did not fare badly in the area of infrastructural and human development.

    Wada’s winning points

    As the serving governor, Captain Idris Wada is expected to enjoy the advantages of the incumbency factor, a factor that has over the years played a major role in Nigerian politics.

    Following the controversies that trailed his emergence as the party’s flag bearer, there were fears that Wada may contest under a sharply divided house.

    However, our investigation confirms that both Wada and the PDP have made efforts to consolidate its base. Reports say immediately after the PDP primary election was decided in his favour, Wada embarked on intense reconciliatory moves to woo his opponents in the PDP. He tried to reach out to his rivals, Jibrin Echocho, Moses Amoto and Muhammed Alli and to other aggrieved chieftains of the PDP in the state like Senator Smart Adeyemi, Sunday Karimi, among others.

    Reports from his camp said the efforts yielded desired results as some of the aggrieved chieftains remained with the governor, though his major rival, Echocho, joined Audu and the APC. If these claims are true, Wada still stands a chance of re-election on Saturday

    Audu’s winning points

    For Audu, whose party, the APC, controls the government at the centre, his supporters expect him to take advantage of the influence, popularity and support of the federal might, especially the cult-like influence and popularity of President Muhammadu Buhari in the North. His party in Kogi State is also not doing badly with two senators and six members of the House of Representatives elected on its APC platform against one senator and three representatives elected on the PDP’s platform.

    It is also in his interest that his party, the APC, also added more members in the state House of Assembly as it now boasts of 10 members as against 15 PDP members in the House.

    Analysts also said the appointment of Audu’s co-contestant in the August APC gubernatorial primary election, James Ocholi (SAN), as Minister may have ensured a more united APC in the state.

    Added to this is Jibrin Echocho’s support, a development PDP labored hard to avoid.

    These points notwithstanding, no one can say for sure who will laugh last. The battle has been tough, the political generals in the race have also been deternined and thorough. All that remains is to unveil the verdict of Kogi electorates.

  • Kogi’s defining moment

    Kogi’s defining moment

    Barring any unforeseen development, the long-awaited first leg of the two-legged staggered governorship elections scheduled for this year will hold on Saturday, November 21, in Kogi State. The second and last leg of the two-legged governorship elections is slated for Bayelsa State on Saturday, December 5.

    From all indications, the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa are decisive while the way the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) handles the all-important exercise will, to a large extent, determine the willingness of the electoral body to ensure considerable improvement on its performances over the years.

    Put succinctly, the conduct of the gubernatorial election in Kogi will clearly show if INEC has indeed learnt anything from its past avoidable mistakes and whether it is ready to conduct free, fair, transparent, credible and acceptable election in Bayelsa State on December 5.

    For the people of Kogi, the governorship election is a defining moment in the political history of the state which was carved out of the present Kwara State several years ago. This is especially why the crucial election has been generating a lot of interest and controversy among the people of Kogi State, in particular, as well as the generality of Nigerians since INEC formally announced the date for the election.

    All roads will on November 21, literally lead to Kogi State as eligible voters are expected to troop out in large numbers to the polling centres across the state to cast their votes for their preferred candidates.

    It is noteworthy that being a staggered election, the electoral exercise involving 22 candidates representing different registered political parties in the state will attract the attention of millions of Nigerians both within and outside the country. It is also hoped that being a staggered election, the usual overwhelming pressure on INEC will not only reduce drastically but the monitoring of the entire electoral process by other relevant stakeholders will also be more effective and more satisfactory to ensure speedy, transparent and acceptable election.

    From all indications, the election will be keenly contested. The fact that the incumbent Governor, Idris Wada of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is among the 22 candidates, make the race a crucial and energy–sapping one.

    It is natural that Wada, being the sitting governor, would enjoy the advantages of incumbency, especially with his unhindered access to state security apparatus, finances, party machinery and other vital structures although these alone may not guarantee him clear victory at the poll that day. Wada’s victory will be determined largely by the extent to which he and his political party have been able to deliver on their promises to the people, particularly in the area of the   much-desired dividends of democracy, in the past four years.

    His PDP-led administration will have to contend with the raging controversy in the state over the backlog of unpaid salaries of civil servants, as well as the governor’s failure to reinstate sacked local government chairmen as ordered by the court. There is no doubt that if not carefully managed, these issues are capable of threatening the chances of Wada.

    Of the 21 other candidates battling to unseat Wada at the poll, Abubakar Audu poses the greatest threat. This is especially because he is highly endowed in all relevant departments in addition to the fact that he is a former governor of the state who after leaving office several years ago, still commands a lot of respect, admiration and influence among his people. The fact that he is the indisputable leader of the major opposition party in Kogi – the All Progressives Congress (APC), places him in comfortable stead to give Wada stiff competition.

    The mammoth crowds at campaign grounds may not exactly determine the type of support the people of Kogi will give Wada on the day of election. The main determinant will be his performance in office during the past four years. This is why he should not in any way under-rate Audu who from all indications, is his main challenger. While Wada is striving hard to ensure he is re-elected for another four years, Audu is working assiduously to return to the Kogi Government House where he left several years ago.

    Kogi 2015 is not only a defining moment for the people of Kogi but it is also a veritable defining moment for Wada and Audu, who when compared with the other 20 contestants seem to be the two serious candidates to watch.

    Already, with the duo of Wada and Audu, the boys are already separated from the men. Wada and Audu are the two political juggernauts that will make the forthcoming governorship election in Kogi to be lively, interesting and intriguing.

    However, it is in the interest of Audu not to take things for granted. The fact that he is a former governor of the state and that the people still admire him, especially for the laudable projects he executed among which is the state-owned university, should not make him rest on his oars. The situation has changed since he left office as governor several years ago and this will require him to change his tactics and strategy for him to be able to earn massive support of the electorate.

    All the 22 contestants in the election should not regard the exercise as a do-or-die affair as it is just an electoral process in which only one out of the 22 candidates will eventually emerge winner. Whoever is declared winner should accept victory with humility while the loser should also accept defeat with magnanimity. Instead of resorting to actions capable of threatening the stability of the country, the loser should seek redress in court.

    Naturally, the question that is seriously agitating the minds of watchers of the on-going political event in Kogi is: Who between Wada and Audu will emerge winner in Kogi on November 21?

    If Wada emerges winner, the PDP will remain in power in Kogi for the next four years. However, if Audu wins, Kogi will be added to the number of states under the control of the APC which is the current governing party at the federal level.

    To ensure free, fair and credible election in Kogi on November 21, INEC, under the new leadership, should provide the candidates, the political parties and other relevant stakeholders, level-playing field to operate.

     

     

    • Ajayi is a journalist and public affairs analyst.

  • ‘Kogi can’t endure another four years of PDP’

    A group, Kogi Liberation Group (KOLIG), has urged the electorate to vote out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November 21 election in the state.

    KOLIG noted that the state could not remain under the party for another four years, since the last four years had been wasted.

    It urged the people to replace the PDP, which it said had misgoverned the state in the last 12 years, and vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Kogi State to progress.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Jos, the state capital, KLG’s National Publicity Secretary, Ogu Idegu, urged Kogi State indigenes at home and abroad to remain calm, despite the pains the PDP administration had inflicted on them.

    The KOLIG’s spokesman assured them that the PDP’s era would soon be over in the state.

    He said: “Since the last 13 years, precisely from 2003, when the PDP took over the government, Kogi State has been retrogressing while other states were making progress.

    “The situation in Kogi State became worse with the emergence of Governor Idris Wada’s administration in 2011, after former Governor Ibrahim Idris mismanaged the state’s resources for nine harrowing years without major achievements.

    “There are empirical evidences to say that Kogi State has stagnated under the PDP, especially Lokoja, the state capital, which has no good road network, no potable water supply and sanitary condition.

    “The issue of bad governance in the state, under the PDP, has only bred thuggery among youths. This is a bi-product of poor leadership, which has never engaged the youth in meaningful ventures.

    “These are some of the reasons Kogi youths at home and abroad formed the Kogi Liberation Group (KOLIG): to use the opportunity provided by the APC to liberate their people from the bad governance of the PDP.”

    The group assured the residents, especially the civil servants, who had lost their rights and privileges under the PDP administration, that their hardship would soon be over in the next few weeks – after the governorship election.

    Idegu added: “All the people need to do on November 21 is to go out en mass and cast their votes for APC’s candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu.

    “I urge the people to remember our covenant to vote out the PDP and liberate ourselves by changing our state to become part of the ruling party at the federal level, considering our resolution not to remain in opposition after this election.”

  • As Kogi decides

    In barely two weeks (November 21), the people of Kogi State in the middle belt of Nigeria will go to the polls in a governorship election. It is poised to be one of the most keenly contested elections in the country in recent times for many reasons.

    First, the new permanent voter card system would make the people’s vote count substantially. Two, the two major gladiators, the incumbent governor, Captain Idris Wada (PDP) and the chief contestant, Prince Abubakar Audu (APC) are both second termers. This means that the people have had the privilege of assessing them both and can tell who had served the best and therefore, who would serve them better, given a second chance.

    Many analysts think it would be close, as what the one may lack the other has. They say it would be close to call. While the incumbent, Wada, is cool and of quiet mien, Audu is known to be able to rouse the rabble. While Wada is very peace-loving and has indeed brought peace to a much fractured environment, Audu is remarkable for his steel and hardihood.

    Finally, one thing to be said for Wada is that the state under his watch does not seem to be embroiled in the fiscal crises most state are faced with; if he owed many months in salary arrears, his campaign would have been a mite more difficult. In a country facing cash crunch, the ability to manage resources and meet basic obligations must count for something. Well, it is a call for Kogites, they know best.