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Tag: KOGI

  • Kadiri, Olumoroti join Kogi governorship race

    • Vow to transform state in four years

    The number of aspirants for the Kogi State governorship seat swelled by two yesterday.

    Senator Alex Kadiri and Engr. Olusola George Olumoroti both picked their nomination and intent forms from the national secreatariat of the All Progresives Congress, vowing to turn around the fortune of the state in four years if voted.

    Addressing newsmen at the APC National Secretariat after collecting his expression of interest and nomination form to contest the APC primaries, Kadiri said the bane of development in the State has been bad governance, adding that he needs only four years to correct the anomalies in the state.

    He said he would only be in office for a term of four years if elected governor of the state, saying “It is not my intention to hang on to the governorship of Kogi State more than four years.”

    Senator Kadiri decried the margilisation of certain parts of the state since its creation in 1991 saying it was part of the problem bedevilling Kogi state, noting that foremost businessmen like Jide Omokore and Tunde Ayeni have no investments in the state because of disconnection between the government and the people of the state.

    He vowed to address youth restiveness and all other anomalies in the state.

    On whether he will subscribe to having a consensus candidate for the election, he said the idea of consensus was good, but may not work out now after the aspirants have been made to part with a whopping N5.5 million each to obtain forms, adding that the timing is rather late.

    He argued that Kogi’s predicament has gone beyond mere electoral promises to addressing fundamental issues of unity among the populace and disconnection between the leaders and the led over time, and lamented a situation where the people of the state who have lived together for over 20 years don’t inter-marry.

    In a different interview with newsmen in Lokoja, Olumoroti said his desire to occupy the exalted office of Kogi State governor was borne out of the need to inject fresh ideas that can move the state forward.

    He said it was sad to see the state ranked  in a recent World Bank rating as the 34th poorest state in the country in spite of its enormous natural and human resources.

    He said the major problem confronting  the state was that greedy and corrupt men with little ideas have been steering its ship, saying it was time for total change.

    Describing himself as the only aspirant who can truly be called the bridge between the old and young, he said he has contributed immensely in the last 15 years to the eradication of poverty in the state through various empowerment schemes for youths and women, including widows.

    He said: “We are tired of the old order. Kogi must emulate Lagos State in the area of development, and I believe it is young, vibrant and energetic young men full of ideas like us that can bring the needed change.

    “By the grace of God, if given the chance , I promise within one year to jump-start the state from its current socio- economic doldrums to a virile and vibrant state which everybody will be proud of.”

    On the rumour that some aspirants are stooges of Prince Abubakar Audu, who intend to step down for him later,  Olumoroti said he would never be a stooge to anybody, adding that he was contesting the election on merit.

    “How can anybody insinuate that I will be a stooge to another aspirant? Never! I have all it takes to govern the state successfully and everybody knows I have been a consistent, focused aspirant since 2007,” he added

  • Kogi polls: Bello unfolds manifesto

    Kogi polls: Bello unfolds manifesto

    Kogi State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant Yahaya Bello has unfolded his manifesto at a party meeting in Lokoja, the state capital, urging the people to vote for power shift.

    He told party followers that Kogi can only move forward, if it is led by a progressive governor.

    Bello lamented that the state remained poor because its resources are not fully tapped.

    He said: “Created in 1991, Kogi State boasts about 29 of the 34 internationally recognised mineral resources in Nigeria. But what do we have to show for this rich natural endowment? Absolutely nothing! Kogi State is, sadly enough, one of the poorest in Nigeria.”

    Bello said the next APC government will break the shackles of retardation, retrogression, stagnation, and underdevelopment., if the people vote for change.

    Bello will fight for the APC ticket at the primaries along with Prince Abubakar Audu, Alhaji Yakubu Mohammed and Senator Abatemi-Usman.

    Bello began his career in 2001 at the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission as a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member. He rose to the position of Chief Accounting Officer. He ventured into stock trading with portfolio spanning oil and gas, and finance. He explained that he entered the race to salvage the Northcentral state.

    Unfolding his five-point agenda, he said:  “Education is not a luxury but a right. There will be education for all. I will overhaul the health system. I will create jobs, develop infrastructure and reform the pension system.

    He said: “Education equips people with the required skills to become self-reliant and therefore, rescue themselves from poverty. We will give conditional cash grants to indigent students, school meal vouchers, full and partial scholarships. We will foster early childhood/youth leadership development, school-based child health intervention, including free and subsidized healthcare. We will provide new school infrastructures and educational aids and materials, teaching resources, incentives for vocational and apprenticeship schemes, and continuous training of teachers.”

    He added: “An idle hand is the devils tool and idle minds his workshop. The battle against unemployment will be waged through strategies to enhance both employability and employment opportunities for the people of Kogi State. I feel the pains of my fellow Kogi youths who cannot find gainful employment.”

    Bello promised “industry-specific training schemes that will work hand-in-hand with our proposed incentivized vocational and apprenticeship schemes under our educational action plans.” He said, without formal education, every Kogi youth will have the opportunity to get into a profitable venture through “training and support that will guarantee a decent livelihood.”

    He said: “Opportunities will be created in agriculture, mining, trade and commerce, artisanship.”

    On tourism, he said: “A vibrant tourism industry is a sine-quanon for a revitalised Kogi State in view of its historical and strategic vantage position as a meeting point of the diverse cultural heritage of the rich nation of Nigeria. Specifically, amusement parks, horticultural gardens, zoos, arcades, boat regattas, festival and cultural venues, among many more, are in the work.”

    He added: “”Kogi State is the solid minerals capital of Nigeria. The most strategic minerals are buried in the bowels of our dear state, but the lackluster successive administrations have been blind to these jewels of nature all around us. Of the thirty-four (34) most important minerals in Nigeria, 29 are in Kogi State. We have a master-plan to partner with the Federal Government and ensure that these blessings no longer lie fallow in our land while our people go hungry and unemployed”.

    Bello promised to develop agriculture, adding that “by the time we are two years in office, the sector would be employing at least 100,000 Kogi indigenes in diverse capacities.”

    He also promised to defend the health sector by refurbishing and equipping existing health facilities to international standards.

    Reiterating his determination to fight infrastructure battle, he said: “Investors are generally drawn to developing the economy when there is availability of basic infrastructure and an enabling environment such as accessibility through a good road network, power, piped water and other utilities. We intend to open up our economic space by focusing on revenue-generating infrastructure ranging from rural roads, water supply by extending the reach of the Greater Lokoja Water works to adjoining towns while building from the scratch many independent rural water projects.”

  • Two killed in renewed Anambra/Kogi clash

    •Battle over oil well persists

    Two persons were yesterday beheaded and four others injured in a renewed clash between Anambra and Kogi States over the ownership of Orient Petroleum Resources Plc.

    The incident happened at Eziagulu Otu in Anambra East, near the Orient Petroleum Resources Ltd office.

    The attack is coming barely 24 hours after the firm’s  management informed the Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, of its new wells in Aguleri, which would increase its crude oil production to 3,000 barrels per day by September.

    The attackers were said to have come from Ibaji in Kogi State.

    The injured persons, according to a source, had been admitted at a private hospital in Onitsha.

    According to sources, the attackers, stormed farms, surprising many who ran into the river.

    As at press time, it could not be ascertained whether some people were missing.

    A distress message received by The Nation read: “Information reaching our town indicates that Kogi people are right now attacking Eziagulu Otu and Enugu Otu in several groups and are about to overrun the area and the oil field facilities there.”

    A community leader, who pleaded for anonymity, described it as a sad situation.

    Police Commissioner Mr. Hosea Karma confirmed the incident. He said his men and the Kogi State police command had stepped in to stop further clash.

    “The attack is unfortunate. We have moved to the area but the terrain is posing a great challenge as it is surrounded by water,” Karma said.

  • Why I want to govern Kogi, by Olafemi

    Why I want to govern Kogi, by Olafemi

    Former Kogi State House of Assembly Speaker  and Acting Governor Clarence Olafemi was a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Committee during the last general elections. In this interview with INNOCENT DURU, he speaks on his governorship ambition and other issues.

    What is your assessment of governance in Kogi State in the last 12 years?

    The problem that is even on ground is even greater than asking me to assess the performance administrations. Basically, they lack focus. Do you know that in Lokoja here, we have no five-star hotel? Yes, the federal government own the riverbank, but you can get permit from them to construct tourist centres along the riverbank or to encourage investors, because I know there were about two foreign entities, groups, that came to discuss tourism with me when I was  governor.

    They promised to build tourisn centres along the riverbank, like those in Israel, Kenya and Senegal. There will be yatchesthat will attract foreigners. All these things are untapped here. It will create job for the people and enhance economic viability of the state.We have riverbank in Lokoja, we have riverbank in Idah. We have a great limestone deposit in Mopa.

    But mineral exploitation is in the exclusive list. How would you go about it?

    We can apply for the licence. That’s why if you look at my manifesto, there will be a very powerful mineral resources department under the office of the governor. What you cannot do is that you cannot perform exclusive duty with the federal government. But, as a state, you can bring in investors, help them facilitate the licensing by the federal

    government. You can provide infrastructure for them, because the land belongs to the state, it’s the minerals that belong to the federal government. You liaise with the community so that they are given the land and the C of O.

    What motivated you in joining the governorship race?

    The main reason why I decided to join the race is that you will carefully observe that I had the opportunity of serving under some of the founding fathers of Kogi State, like late Chief Sunday Awoniyi and I was equally very close to the likes of late Adamu Attah. The dream of the founding fathers of Kogi State is completely different from what is happening. If they are still alive today, some of them will be weeping. They would have left the old Kabba in Kwara and allowed the East to remain in Benue. They had a dream and the dream was we could capitalize on the strategic location of the state. It can become an economic hub of the trans-North-South trading route. You can see what is happening in Dubai. Dubai was built out of nothing, and today, it has become an economic hub. Kogi was lucky to be located at the centre of Nigeria; people coming from South East, people coming from South West, people coming from North, will pass through Lokoja, the state capital. The economic benefits would have been enormous but we did not capitalize on it.

    You find out that we are sitting on over twenty commercially viable mineral resources, that could have transformed the entire state. Minus the Obajana Cement Company, Kogi State has remained a trading merchandise business. We have a lot of challenges that has turned the potentials of this state to enormous waste. Part of the reason that has been responsible is that since the advent of democracy, most of the people that have governed this state, if not all, are strangers to the conditions and happenings in the state.

    What did you achieve during your short tenure as acting governor?

    Within 60 days I spent in office, I established five special science schools, I awarded contract for the  construction of Shintako-Mosu road’, and perhaps the only capital intensive project that has been done in Bassa land since inception of this state in 1991. I also awarded contracts for Odo koro-Yara road, and Ageva-Ogori road. I provided 120 motorized borehole and supplied 200 transformers. My administration provided 25 Hilux vans to confront the security challenges of the state’.

    As Speaker,  I knew precisely what are the challenges; the problems of the state, so when people are saying, ‘oh, this man has performed wonderfully well, we love him, we want him to continue’, it was because I was familiar with the problems of the state. The state was handed over to me mid-afternoon; I did not go for any tutorials; I did not go to any class, before I took over the leadership of the state, because there can’t be any vacuum, so I think those are the type of people the state needs as their governor and this is what propelled me to now decide. I have observed those that are coming out; they are good; they are educated; they are rich; they have made their own mark, but they will not fit into the leadership of the state that we are anticipating, particularly for a state that has drifted so much, and at the verge of being called a failed state.

    The local governments owe 16 or 17 months salaries, the state government also owe. During my stay in government for eight years, we never owed any workers’ salary. The IGR is not growing, and so we need a knowledgeable man, and the state cannot afford to be gambling with who becomes the governor, so these are the reasons why I decided to join the race

    The pressure on me cut across the ethnic groupsin the state.The Igbira  the Igala,the Okun Development Association; all of them have sent delegation asking me to contest the governorship election.

    Don’t you think coming from Kogi West will affect your political fortune?

    No, let me tell you one basic truth today. No single senatorial district can go it alone. The East, if they don’t have the support of the West or the Central, they cannot win the governorship. That is the truth. The West, they cannot win the governor if they don’t have the support of the East and the Central. What has happened is a political situation in which the Central and the West had always play to the hands of the East senatorial zone. When 10 or 12 aspirants come from the East, they unite, and present onlyone candidate. But the West,  where I come from will present eight,and  the Central presenting two or three, of course you know what the result will be. But now, the awareness is so strong, that no senatorial district can cling to power to the detriment of others again. It is even in the interest of any senatorial district not to monopolise power, because you might even be surprised that somebody from the other senatorial district may develop your area more than your brother.

    When I was acting governor, I did not sack the commissioners, I relieved them and re-appointed them, because the rule demands that I should sack them as the tenure of the government that appoited them had expired. I can work with anybody; my driver here today, is an Igala man, my office secretary is an Igala lady, so also some of my other staff.

    If we have a detribalized person as governor I don’t think any  tribe will want to monopolise power. The North tried it, but at the end, they conceded power  to the South West. The Kogi East should learn from this experience and cocede governorship seat to either the west or east this time around.

  • Kogi: The unending mess

    Kogi: The unending mess

    “THE mess in Kogi” was the not-so-nuanced title of the article I posted in this space on February 2, 2012.

    How I wish time and tide and circumstance had softened that judgment. Rather, they have, if anything, reinforced it.

    Then Kogi State was, and is even more so now, a political unit administered by the Igala largely for the benefit of the Igala, with scant regard for the interests and well-being of the Yoruba – the so-called Okun people of the former Kabba Province, the Ebirra and the Nupe who were corralled in a state that treats them as colonial subjects.

    You see it at every stratum of the public service and in every aspect of the governance.  It is dominance most unsubtle.  When they bother at all to respond to the complaint of those whom they are lording it over with such in-your-face brazenness, they tell them it is all a game of numbers.

    They assert that the Igala people outnumber all the other ethnic groups combined and should by that fact exercise the dominance that comes with that endowment. Theirs is a game of brute numbers in which equity and fellow-feeling have no place.

    Those at the receiving end of this kind of treatment must therefore have felt sorely galled to hear Governor Idris Wada declaim the other day that he had brought equity and justice and fairplay to governance in Kogi.

    Hear him, in a wide-ranging interview with Thisday (July 23, 2015)

    “…We try to unify our people for a common purpose of development and transformation of Kogi State by being fair in the distribution of amenities and projects across the three senatorial zones of the state and we try to attend to the needs of our people in an equitable manner and this has helped to propel our agenda for unity and transformation …”

    This declamation can perhaps be understood in the context of the gubernatorial election in which Wada will be seeking a second term. Outside that context, it flies in the face of the facts.  It is even flatly contradicted by other claims Wada made in the wide-ranging interview.

    The claim that he is building a university teaching hospital and a vocational training centre and an “ultra-modern” parking garage and 500 houses and has “electrified” more than 400 villages and built 300 motorised boreholes and renovated “countless” number of schools even while building many more may be well-founded.

    The critical question is:  Where are these projects located?

    It is the contention of this column that the “equity” and “fairness” that Wada trumpeted in the interview under reference hardly informed the siting of the projects. The siting of the Federal University in the state and Wada’s role in it makes that point abundantly clear.

    Word had come, apparently from on high that, finally, a major federal project was likely to be sited in Kabba, in the much-neglected Yoruba area of Kogi State. The entire area was agog with excitement and great expectation. The town already boasted a thriving College of Agriculture, an affiliate of Ahmadu Bello University, set up during the First Republic when Kabba belonged in Northern Nigeria.

    With that solid infrastructure in place, and with plenty of room for expansion, the proposed university would be taking off on a sound footing, in an area where education is the major industry.  It would, withal, serve as a catalyst for economic development.

    The joy was short-lived. The university, Wada insisted, had to be sited in Lokoja, to make up for what he called a deficit of federal presence in the neighbourhood.

    If anything, Lokoja already enjoyed a surfeit of federal presence as befits a state capital. It is host to a Federal Medical Centre, a branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Inland Waterways, a military garrison and a police area command, among other institutions.

    According to corroborated media reports, Wada led a visiting National Universities Commission delegation to the premises of a secondary school in serious disrepair and told its members that that would be the home of the new federal university. And at the end of its visit, NUC Chairman Professor Julius Okojie dutifully announced that it had indeed accomplished its mission of locating the best site for the new institution, namely the premises of the derelict school, aforementioned.

    To be fair to Wada, he is not solely or even principally responsible for the blazing inequity and the grasping propensity that have under the ruling ethnic group in Kogi become the defining characteristics, if not the fundamental objectives, of the governance of the state.

    The template was set by the imperious first elected governor, Abubakar Audu, who invested himself with royal airs and an ornate, outsized wardrobe to match. It was notorious that he conducted business from a throne-line chair while his fawning appointees had to stoop before him to take their orders.

    He reluctantly agreed to set up the state university in the nearest town, Ayingba, when it became clear that his village lacked the absorptive capacity for that kind of project.  Even so, he had it named for himself by subterfuge.

    A student delegation from the institution had gone to meet Audu in Lokoja to complain about a dearth of facilities at the institution.  The students, so the story goes, were dragooned into a room and asked to draft a petition urging the Kogi Assembly to name the university for Audu.  The petition was forwarded to the Assembly, which assented post haste.

    That was how it came to be called Prince Abubakar Audu University –not just any Abubakar Audu but the princeling – with the hilarious acronym PAAU.  The institution has since reverted to its original name.

    Audu’s successor Ibrahim Idris, the carpenter they called “Ibro”followed the same path, but without the flashes of urbaneness that Audu often radiated even at his most imperious.  Wada has been a good and faithful student of the duo.

    If Wada wins the PDP’s nomination, he will face re-election in November in a profoundly altered political environment. The superior numbers the PDP had relied upon over the years to win and retain power in Kogi without serious challenge is no longer assured.

    The PDP retained control of the State Assembly in the general election this past March, but the strong showing of the APC in that poll, not forgetting that it is now the ruling party at the centre and that it has thrown up candidates with far wider appeal do not bode well for Wada and the PDP.

    One more thing: The voting pattern in the general election suggests powerfully that, contrary to what has been the dominant assumption in Kogi all these years, the Igala do not constitute a bigger voting bloc than all the other ethnic groups combined.

    If they play smart, those groups can effect a power shift, especially if the PDP is seen to be offering nothing but continuity.

     

  • Rumpus in Kogi APC over Audu’s gubernatorial ambition

    Rumpus in Kogi APC over Audu’s gubernatorial ambition

    Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports that Prince Abubakar Audu’s interest to contest for the All Progressives Congress’ governorship ticket in Kogi State has raised the stakes ahead the October governorship election in the state

    Though it started as a rumour, whispered in hushed tones, as the people of Kogi State prepare for the 2015 gubernatorial ambition scheduled to hold in October, it is now public knowledge that their former governor, Prince Abubakar Audu, is interested in returning to Lugard House to serve in the same capacity for a third time.

    While the news of the ex-governor’s renewed ambition is being received across the state with mixed feelings, it appears his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), may have been thrown into a serious internal squabble as groups within it battle for and against Audu’s ambition.

    Already, there are allegations and counter allegations. While the former governor’s camp accused his critics of ganging up against him for no reason, other governorship aspirants within the party are accusing Audu of plotting to acquire the party’s ticket through undemocratic means.

    “Prince Audu’s ambition is an ill wind that will blow nobody any good. He knows he cannot win the primary election of the APC and he is planning to subvert the process and award the ticket to himself,” a governorship aspirant lamented. But an aide of the former governor debunked such allegations, saying “these people who before now feel the APC cannot achieve anything in Kogi are now shouting. They are confusionists out to distract the party.”

    The Nation learnt that trouble started within the party following Audu’s decision to finally make his ambition public after months of insinuations and indications. Few weeks back, the former governor announced that he would heed the call of the people of the state to again come forward and contest the forthcoming governorship election.

    He spoke at his Ogbonicha country home in Ofu Local Government Area of the state at a civic reception he organised for his party, the APC’s national and state assemblies’ members in the state. Justifying his decision, Audu said the state was his ”baby” which he would not abandon.

    “The voice of men are the voice of God, the people are yearning for me to come back because of my performance between 1999 and 2003. A lot of people have been wallowing in abject poverty with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in power in the state. A lot of people are dying.  As a matter of fact, Kogi is my baby and if I turn my back against my baby, it means I am an irresponsible father,” he said.

    And as if responding to widespread questions from his critic as to what he is coming back to do, the APC leader said, “I am coming back to salvage; rescue the state and place it back to where I left it in 2003 and even go beyond that.”

    Stiff opposition

    It took little or no time for the public announcement to attract responses from within the party. Expectedly, the first group to reject Audu was the one loyal to the former governor’s arch-rival and fellow party man, Barrister James Ocholi. According to party sources, the group is opposed to Audu because of the running political battle between him and Ocholi.

    “After the successful merger of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), these two leaders, Audu and Ocholi have been locking horns over who becomes party leader in the state.

    Naturally, members who came from the CPC were sympathetic to Ocholi, while those in the ACN group were sympathetic to Audu. Those who came from other parties either followed Audu’s group or Ocholi’s group. As a result of the situation, the CPC group has Muhammed Mabo as their chairman, while the ACN group picks Alhaji Hadi Amentur as the party chairman.

    But they were later reconciled by the party’s national leaders. Hence, Hadi became the chairman in an election supervised by the officials of the party from the national headquarters without the presence of factions. The division was again brought to limelight again during the primary election to pick candidates for the National Assembly and State Assembly elections as election materials were said to have been hijacked by Audu’s group, led by Dino Melaye,” a party source alleged.

    Beside the Ocholi group, some elders are also opposed to Audu’s ambition for some reasons and they are voicing their rejection of him loudly even as the former governor and his team go about seeking the support of groups and individuals within and outside the party in a bid to ensure the success of his ambition.

    The elders, under the aegis of the All Progressives Elders Vanguard, called on the party and President Muhammadu Buhari to save the party from imminent collapse under the leadership of Audu. They claimed that Audu had hijacked the party machinery to his benefit, warning that the APC would lose the goodwill it enjoyed during the presidential election if Audu was not called to order.

    The elders, in a letter to Buhari, warned that the outcome of the state assembly election could be replicated during the governorship election in 2016 except the former governor is prevailed upon to drop his governorship ambition and also allow the rule of law to take root.

    The elders said the party’s misfortune in the National Assembly election in the state was due to the ambition of the former governor. The party was victorious in the March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections, but performed dismally in the governorship and state assembly polls.

    The letter signed by Isa Sani Omolori, chairman of the APC Elders’ Vanguard, Kogi Central, also accused Audu of being interested only in building structures for his governorship ambition than working for the collective good of the party.

    The letter read in part: “The main problem of the party (APC) in the state is not that of followership but leadership, which zeroes down on former Governor Abubakar Audu, whose dictatorial politics would destroy rather than build the party.

    “What happened at the last national elections was for Audu to put up structures to launch his governorship ambition rather than abide by the party’s constitution and follow due process in the primaries.”

    Another group, Kogi Renewal Group, kicked against Audu’s quest to get the APC governorship ticket.

    The Chairman of the group, Dr. Abubakar Yakubu, told journalists that Kogi needed change but the change the state needed was not the return of Audu to Lugard House.

    The group advised him to canvass support for other aspirants outside Kogi East Senatorial District to become governor in 2016, stressing that Kogi State had been generous with their support for candidates from Kogi East in the last 16 years. To them, Audu’s ambition is against the principle of equity and fairness.

    Alhaji Suleiman Baba Ali, a former health commissioner in the state and APC governorship aspirant, also want his former boss to quit the race. “As I said, I worked in an administration led by Prince Audu, 1999 to 2003. You must give that to him. I have said that every time. Among all the governors we have had in Kogi, his performance is still the best. I’m proud to have been associated with that government.

    But basically, we think this is the time for others to have their hands on governance in Kogi. Those of us who have learnt from him and imbibed good things from him, this is an opportunity for us to do well, while he plays the fatherly role and stays back. He should give advice on how to make Kogi a better state.

    At the same time, he should be able to fight for Kogi at national level so that he can get bigger and better things because of his fatherly role. He may not be able to get these things directly if he is the governor himself. That is the role of the leadership of the party at national level. They should look at it and I believe they are looking at those possibilities,” Ali argued.

    Counter position

    But the Kogi Peoples Assembly (KPA) chided some self acclaimed politicians in the state who it claimed are bent on frustrating the governorship bid of Audu, saying they can’t stop him from returning to Luggard House next year. Speaking to journalists in Abuja over the unfolding political power play ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in the state, the group’s coordinator, Engr. Solomon Adaji, said Audu’s position as the leader of the APC in the state was not contestable.

    Describing critics of Audu’s leadership political status in the party as political neophytes, Adaji specifically condemned the recent statements credited to those he called faceless persons operating under groups against Audu, saying they “are jittery over the unwavering and high status of Prince Abubakar Audu in APC”.

    “Audu represents the agent of change and a gift to any nation like ours which is in desperate need to attain democratic advancement. They had tried in vain to ridicule a man of integrity, honour and prudence; a principled and transparent individual; a revered political colossus, a quintessential achiever”, Adaji noted.

    He described as arrant nonsense suggestions from some quarters that Audu was more interested in building structures for his governorship ambition than working for the collective good of the party. Describing Audu as a shrewd politician, Adaji explained that the former governor does not need to build new political structures to actualise his governorship ambition in the next dispensation.

    He said, “Audu had in place magnificent structure in Kogi State, dating back to 1991, when he ran for the position of the governor of Kogi State under the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC). It was under the same 1991 structure that Audu used in 1999 to emerge victorious as governor of Kogi State under the platform of the defunct All Peoples Party (APP).

    “To put in perspective Audu’s political structure and followership transcends the landscape of Kogi State. As an internationally recognised politician cum business mogul, Audu is not an individual in the political scene of the nation as erroneously expressed by these critics.

    “Audu being a household name in Kogi State, with unprecedented political followers, admirers and supporters across the nooks and crannies in the state will not capitalise on any new structures to win the forthcoming governorship election.

    “Audu has built structures within and around notable political parties across the country, and one of which transformed into the political tsunami, called the All Progressive Congress (APC) today.

    “He single-handedly formed a rainbow alliance with the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Action Congress (AC) and Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD) aimed at rooting out PDP’s misrule in the State”.

    He noted that Kogi State was in a deplorable condition under the present leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would therefore require a banker of repute in the person of Prince Abubakar to rescue it.

    Another group loyal to Audu, Confluence for Change, responded, saying Prince Audu is the leader of the APC in the state.

    The group said, in a statement signed by its chairman, Isah Ibrahim, that Audu had remained a rallying point for the APC not only in Kogi State but in the North Central zone.

    Also, thousands of youths from the 21 local governments of Kogi State staged a peaceful rally at Murtala Muhammed Bridge on Abuja-Jamata-Lokoja Road in support of the governorship ambition of Prince Audu. The APC Youth Leader, Omale Moses, who led the rally, said since the former governor left office, the state had collapsed socially and economically, adding that they wanted him to come and save the state from bad leadership.

    Also, a chieftain of the party, Alhaji Linco Ocheje, believed that there was neither a division nor a problem in the APC over who would become the governorship candidate. He said Audu and any other party member were constitutionally guaranteed the right to vie for the governorship seat in a free and transparent primary election.

    He likened the Kogi scenario to the contest among Buhari, Atiku Abubakar and Rabiu Kwankwaso during the presidential primary election when people believed that the APC would have scattered but came out stronger at the end.

    A crowded race

    Findings by The Nation revealed that opposition to the former governor’s ambition is not just verbal, as many aspirants are already warming up to wrestle with him for the APC governorship ticket. The primary elections have been fixed for between August 25 and September 15 by INEC.

    Aside Audu, who was the first governor of the state and leader of the APC in the state, there are about ten other aspirant eyeing the APC ticket. The ex-governor was denied a return to Lugard House by Alhaji Ibrahim Idris in 2003. He had contested all subsequent governorship elections in the state but had always lost.

    Pundits say one major factor that may affect his chances this time around, in spite of APC’s seeming good stead to defeat the ruling PDP, is the agitation for power shift from his native Kogi East which has been ruling the state since its creation in 1991. But his handlers believe his popularity and the numerical strength of his zone will deliver the votes for him.

    Other aspirant seeking the party’s ticket include budding political giant, Yahaya Bello, also called “Fair Plus”, which is his business name, according to sources. He is from Kogi Central, a zone highly favoured by proponents of power shift. This factor, coupled with his popularity across the state, especially among the youths, is expected to work in his favour.

    Audu’s arch-rival, James Ocholi, is another strong contender for the APC governorship ticket from the eastern flank of the state. The 55-year-old Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) is a former governorship aspirant on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the state. His closeness to President Muhammadu Buhari is being bandied as a selling point by his supporters.

    Also in the race is Salihu Atawodi. He is a retired Air Vice Marshal. A reckoned politician, he, alongside other ex-PDP chieftains, joined the APC shortly before the general election. Although considered an aspirant of note by many, his critics say he is too new in the party to be trusted with the ticket.

    Other chieftains of the APC said to be keen about contesting the primary election for the party’s governorship ticket are Aliyu Zakari Jiya, Habeeb Yaqeen, Suleiman Babe Ali, Onukaba Adinoyi Ojo, Lanre Ipinmisho, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, Rotimi Yaqub Obadofin, former Deputy Governor, Alex Usman Kadiri, Nicholas Yahaya Ugbane and Olusola George Olumoroti.

    Fear, assurance

    Consequent upon the open opposition to Audu’s quest to fly the party’s flag and the crowded race to the primary election, keen watchers of the development are warning of a rancorous contest within the party which may affect its chances at the general election later in the year.

    But the APC chairman in the state, Hadi Amentur, insists there is no division in the party. Amentur is confident that there is no cause for alarm because of his belief that there was no PDP in the state at the moment. He said it was normal and constitutional for any member of the party to aspire to get the party’s ticket for the governorship election.

    According to him, any member of the party can contest any position in the party as long as he or she is a member. Nobody can stop anyone from contesting the governorship ticket. He said the constitution allowed those who wanted to contest to do so through the primary election, stressing that those saying somebody should not contest were only making noise because the party constitution clearly spelt it out.

    “We won three senatorial seats, six House of Representatives and 11 State House of Assembly seats. More seats will be collected through the tribunal. With the poor performance of the PDP, led by Idris Wada, it would be an easy ride for the APC,” he said.

    With such reassuring words from the leadership of the party in the state, one can only wait to see how President Buhari’s party men will manage the situation in the Confluence State ahead of the battle for the  Lugard House.

  • Police arrest kidnappers of Kogi judge

    Police arrest kidnappers of Kogi judge

    The Kogi State Police Command Thursday said that it has killed one Aliyu Isa, a.K.a Osama, the leader of a notorious criminal gang that kidnapped a state High Judge, Justice Samuel Obayomi recently and arrested other members of the gang.

    He said the late Osama was one of those that escaped from the Koto-Karfe Prison, during a jail break last year.

    The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Samuel Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi made this known while parading 13 suspected criminals at the Command Headquarters in Lokoja.

    He explained that Osama, who died during exchange of fire with the police, was out on a vengeance mission and recruited other gang members to carry out the elimination of his targets.

    He said some of Osama’s target included a petrol marketer, he worked with and the judge.

    He said that the deceased suspect and his gang members attacked the independent petrol marketer and his workers at a filling station, killed the manager and another staff, and died in the ensuing cross-fire between the police and members of the gang.

    The CP said that the Barretta pistol found on him belonged to the late orderly (Cpl. Usman Isah) of the Judge who was kidnapped.

    The police boss added that late Osama was one of those that escaped from jail, where he was serving 10 and 15 years respectively.

    He said, “The deceased manager of the filing station and the corporal, before he was assigned to the Judge were key witness and Investigation Police Officer respectively in the case that led to imprisonment of the late suspect”.

    He added that the Judge who was kidnapped on May 25 and released June 27, presided over the suspect’s case.

    Also paraded was one Bolaji Agbaje Williams, who claimed he was employed as security guard at the cave where the High Court Judge was kept for over three weeks.

    Williams who confessed that he joined the gang recently and was detailed to watch over the victim, claimed he hails from Ijebu Ode in Ogun State.

    Also paraded was a gang comprising of Fulani herdsmen who specialized in kidnapping of fellow herdsmen.

    The suspects, Idris Mohammed Jafaru, Shehu Haruna and Yunusa Ahmadu confessed to haven made over N1.5 million from criminal activities.

    The CP said that all the suspects would be charged to court immediately.

  • Kogi: Wada, a significant risk for PDP

    Since 1999, for many citizens of Kogi State, stasis has been a constant denominator in most actions of all its past leaders in government.  From Governor Audu Abubakar to Ibrahim Idris and now, Idris Wada, nothing seems to have changed.  The leadership of the state have been clouded by allegations of corruption and poor performance.

    The November governorship election therefore presents a fresh opportunity and high possibility for the revival of the fortunes of the state provided a set of quality leadership is introduced into Kogi politics.

    Luckily, for Kogi citizens, the problem and pains of having an Audu Abubakar as their next governor seems delightfully settled. This is so because the present political power tussle in the Kogi APC makes it very unlikely that an Audu Abubakar will emerge victorious against the wishes of many party heavy weights that are assumed to have already taken their case to the ears of President Muhammadu Buhari, a no nonsense man on corruption.

    Presently, the expectation is that President Buhari will neither be too deaf nor blind to the long list of Audu Abubakar’s alleged past atrocities. Already, the red signals from the National leadership of APC are pointing towards Audu Abubakar’s direction in line with President Buhari’s recent declaration to the world that his fight against corruption is not a respecter of political affiliation.

    On the other side of the political divide, is the incommodious intention of the incumbent governor, Idris Wada to seek a second tenure under the PDP. The reality on ground reveals that Wada’s desperation for a second term in office has already given rise to a revolt within the PDP as witnessed by the cancellation of the conducted state PDP ward congress which he was accused of manipulating and most recently, the imposition of his ‘men’ in the rescheduled election under the watchful eyes of Olisa Metuh – the National Publicity secretary of the PDP.

    Within the PDP party and in general, the Kogi electorate, Governor Idris Wada seems to have lost on both fronts. Recently, he has come under intense criticism from majority of Kogi citizens due to his compromised credibility and underperformance rating in governance. All these negative attributes have combined to be huge minus for his aspiration and the desires of Kogi people. Even though Wada and his inner circle have made various efforts to project him as a viable candidate in the elections, unfortunately, scandals being churned out on him appear endless and attempts by his lean supporters in the PDP to protect him from criticisms have not been  successful because  the voices of his critics appear to have grown too loud to be subdued and the facts in their hands on Wada’s inappropriateness cum mismanagement are enough to send even a strong politician to the gulag or political oblivion.

    To many analysts, Wada has not succeeded in providing appropriate leadership in both government and his party. Specifically, at the party level, under Wada the PDP has been fractured. In fact, since the elections of 2011which ushered him into office, a lot of PDP members have left the party because they felt aggrieved by his imposition on them and many more are still questioning whether they should leave the party if Wada gets the PDP ticket for the November poll. Indeed, if this happens, it will be a very deep dilemma for the PDP. As such, with Wada, it has become obvious that PDP has a very scary prospect in the forthcoming governorship election. Furthermore, the ousting of major PDP members from their seats at the National Assembly in the last 2015 general elections has been the lowest point and stark moment of failure for the PDP under Wada. Again, at the state level, in many respects, Governor Wada has failed and his inability to sustain the confidence of the

    Kogi people has also become a major problem for his leadership of the state. Thus, Wada’s continued stay in office will be akin to keeping a Captain that is taking its passengers to a crash destination. This is where many focused analysts believe that the eyes of the national leadership of PDP must be opened to the retrogressive purported decision of making Wada its candidate in the November election, otherwise, the party will be doomed.

    Contrastingly, in the past few months, Wada’s priority in the state has been on his political survival through the use of the state PDP structure and enforcers to manipulate the upcoming primaries rather than focusing on the implementation of projects that will reverse his unpopularity in the state. At the party level he seems to have made considerable inroad by installing his cronies in various party leadership positions. However, with a bad record card of governance under the PDP, the ready question herein is of what worth will another PDP governorship ticket be in hands Wada? For many sympathizers of the Kogi PDP, removing Wada on the contenders list is the most credible option because the governorship contest in Kogi State is beyond just producing a candidate from a party but more about projecting the candidate of choice.

    A quick recall of history shows that in the past three years, Idris Wada has made headlines in the media for all the negative reasons and there is no indication that his continued occupancy of the highest political position in Kogi State will restore normalcy, hope and appropriate life for Kogi citizens. Any other choice aside asking Wada to step down will spell doom for the PDP because it will be a mountainous task to convince the majority of Kogi voters that PDP means well for them with Wada on the ballot.  Simply put, politics of party destruction leaves the individual with no platform and the PDP cannot afford to hang on to any form of mediocrity that will give room to chances of losing such an important election. Wada has shown that he neither understands politics properly nor does he have capacity for proper governance. So where lies his potentials for good governance? A PDP governorship ticket to Idris Wada will further split the party and guarantee a bleak future as it will have a very long grim journey to comeback as a viable political party after a highly predictable electoral loss.

    For the greater good of the Kogi people, the best advice for the PDP is to pressure Wada to relinquish power and allow someone else that is competent and popular to take over in order to rebuild a united and peaceful party. This may even provide a very good soft landing for Governor Idris Wada as he will still be accorded a leadership status in the party and by extension in the state.  In all, the selection of a next Kogi State governor will depend more on voters’ choice than party sentiments and impunity. Nevertheless, the final decider remains God.

    ‘Any other choice aside asking Wada to step down will spell doom for the PDP because it will be a mountainous task to convince the majority of Kogi voters that PDP means well for them with Wada on the ballot’

    • Thomas wrote from Kabba, Kogi State.

  • Group canvasses power shift in Kogi

    Ahead of the governorship election in Kogi State, a group, under the Kogi Equity Initiative (KEI), has called for power shift from the East Senatorial District to another zone in the state.

    The group alleged that, since the creation of the state in 1991, the slot and other key political appointment have been skewed towards an ethnic group.

    In a communiqué in Ilorin KEI chairman and secretary, Dada Fehinti and Comrade Taiwo Otitolaye said power should shift to give the zones a sense of belonging.

    “We are united by common destiny of political equity, power shift and social justice in line with the collective aspirations of our people that have been marginalized for over twenty years.” the group said.

    The group added: “Since the creation of Kogi State, no non-Igala has been governor and given the backwardness of human and capital development, despite the enormous resources; when compared with other states created at the same time, power shift is inevitable.

    “We express dissatisfaction with the way some positions and offices are been made birth right of the Igalas and, therefore, demand for equity and justice for the people of Kogi West and Central.

  • Why I want to lead Kogi, by aspirant

    An All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, yesterday, described the state as a weeping child.

    Bello, who spoke in Abuja, said the underdevelopment in the state will require a visionary leader to boldly tackle.

    He said: “Today, the wind of change is sweeping across Nigeria. Every facet of our lives is experiencing this positive change.  The long touted and elusive dividend of democracy is finally reaching the people.

    “Kogi State cannot afford to be left behind. Kogi State cannot continue to be among the worst performing states.  Indigenes must take up the challenge to change the state’s fortunes. We must choose the right candidate to lead Kogi State in November.”

    “The choice of who leads Kogi in the next four years is very clear. We cannot continue to entrust our collective future to a cabal, people who have shown us that they cannot be trusted with our welfare.

    “What we need now in Kogi State are not electoral promises.  What we need is a visionary leader.  Someone who understands what governance is and has the political will to change the fortunes of the people.”

    Bello, popularly referred to Fairplus, added that: “Those who know me, know that I have the requisite qualities to lead Kogi State.

    “ I am a simple man.  One who believes in the rule of law, fairness and equal treatment.

    “I want to lead Kogi State because the state deserves a governor, who has a well thought out and structured developmental roadmap.  The era of paying lip service to development is over.  Now we must walk the talk.

    “We must be ready to back up our words with action. Now we must take our destinies into our hands. The choice is ours.  We must choose wisely.”