The Nation Newspaper

Tag: KOGI

  • Wada and marginalisation in Kogi

    A recent interview allegedly granted by Kogi State Governor, Captain Idris Wada quoted him as saying that there is no marginalization of any group in his state. We would not want to believe that he said so. But if for any reason he did, we wish to serve this as a freshener.

    Perhaps it may be necessary to define marginalization and cite a few, among the innumerable and outrageous instances of abuse of power and office in the name of marginalization by Governor Wada and his predecessors in a series of nepotic Igala governance.

    By way of definition and education of all who cannot see happenings in Kogi State as marginalization, the Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary describes it as “the relegation to an unimportant position within a society or group”

    In stating the entrenchment of a series of unforgivable marginalization in the state, we may have to make a comparative analysis of Wada’s government viz a vis that of the founding Governor Abubakar Audu (1991 – 1993 and 1999 – 2003) who we thought was himself not only despotic but a tribal warlord.

    In Kogi State, there are three senatorial districts – the East comprising Igala and minorities like Bassa-Komu; Bassange Egbira Mozum; the West with the Okuns, Nupes, Oworos, Egbira-Kotos, Bassa-Komu,Gukeri, Ganagana and Hausa; and the .Central – comprising Ebira-Okene, Ogori Magongo and Ajaokuta.

    The State’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) stands at 7% East,12% West; and 72% Central, yet the East has produced the governor of the state for 18-years, the life-span of democratic governance since the creation of Kogi State in1991.

    Audu’s six-year governance of two terms (1991 – 93 and 1999 – 2003) produced the following: 17 Commissioners out of which nine were from the East, while four each come from the West and Central respectively; 33 Permanent Secretaries with 18-from Kogi East, 10 from the West and 5 from Central.

    In the State’s Civil Service of 33,000 workforce, the East had a lion share of 23,100, while 5,940 were from the West and 3,960 were from the Central. Here one wonders whether it is the brilliance or competence of the Igalas in Benue State that had given them this advantage on arrival in Kogi. For those of us who were there at the inception of the state and knew the calibre of products that were moved from Benue State Civil Service to the new state of Kogi, we have our huge doubts, we denounced the fictitious figures and have been proved right by the recent audit that revealed the huge deposit of ghost workers.

    If Audu’s government was iniquitous, Ibrahim Idris’ and Wada’s are a glaring display of impunity. The figures below attest: Wada’s government has 18 Commissioners out of which nine are from the East, five West and four Central; 60 Special Advisers with a whopping 30 from his home area, the East while the West and Central have 20 and 10 respectively.

    Wada’s government has 83 Senior Special Assistants out of which 41 (50%) are from the East, 26 (31.1%) from the West and 16 (19.1%)from the Central.

    Of Gov. Wada’s 242 Special Assistants, 139 are from the East, 66 from the West and 37 from Central.

    Could this be somebody’s idea of justice, fairness and equitable distribution? Could this be the opposite of marginalization?

    Of the 32 Permanent Secretaries, 24 (75%) are from the East while the West and Central share 4 or 12.5% each. Again one wonders if the civil service knowledge, skills and even experience are the exclusive preserve of the East. Here again, we reiterate in the negative.

    Indeed the reverse should be the case because the reservoir of highly talented, experienced and skilled staff from the West and Central have been edged out by the nepotic system and replaced by the Igalas.

    The state has 25 Board Chairmen comprising 14 (56%) from the East, 8 (32%) from the West and 3 (12%) from Central.

    The present government of Kogi State headed by Capt Idris Wada has a Civil Service of 18,650 which breaks down as follows:10,393 (approx 56%) from the East; 4,977  (27%) from the West; and 3,280 (17%) from Central.

    On the distribution of road projects, the East has N39.3billion for about 476.6kilomretres, the West N21.9billion for 209-kilometres, while Central has a paltry N3.3billion for 62kilometres. It is however an irony that despite these figures, one cannot see a translation of them in action.

    The litany of primitive imbalances is legion.

    If all these are not heartless instances of marginalization, we are not sure what else to call it. Perhaps, it may make better sense labeling it iniquitous voodoo governance.

    This must change. Kogi has all the potentials for a first class state in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, considering its history, strategic location and boundless endowment. The time has come to flush out ineptitude and jungle inequity. It is time to redeem Kogi State by installing a civilized, just, fair and equitable government.

     

    • Dr Adaba, OON, former DG NBC, writes from Abuja

  • Kogi guber poll: PDP at daggers drawn with NWC

    Things seems to be fallen apart for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State ahead of the November governorship election in the state.

    Already, elected delegates in the state are at dagger drawn with the National Working Committee of the party.

    The delegates who were elected in the June 27th, 2015 ad-hoc delegates election across the various wards in the state, have rejected the purported cancellation of their elections.

    They described the action of the party NWC as undemocratic and unacceptable to them.

    A lawyer, Ibrahim Abdullahi, an elected delegate representing Igalamela/Odolu LGA in his address said the party leadership erred by setting up a new committee to conduct fresh adhoc delegates election when the first one was declared to be free and fair.

    He further stressed that there was no justification for the new directive, except if there was a hidden agenda.

    He said: “We state categorically at this juncture that, we totally reject the purported cancellation and plot to conduct a fresh election for the ad-hoc delegates. Information available to us suggests that certain elements in the National Working Committee of the party have colluded with some undemocratic party members to deny the state a transparent process leading to the election of state executives.

    “We therefore wish to warn any of such members of the National Working Committee against undue vested interest they are showing in the matters of our state. We wish to also inform all, that the entire members and leaders of our party in the state will resist vehemently, any form of undue attempt to subvert the process with a view of installing state executives against the interest of the teeming members of the party.

    “We therefore call on our National Leaders, Board of Trustees members, other state governors and opinion leaders in the party to call the misguided members of the National Working Committee to order in the general interest of our party.

    “While we reaffirm our loyalty, commitment and support to our party PDP, we will resist, contest and reject attempt to hijack the party structure through unpopular and undemocratic means.”

  • Kogi Police Command summons licensed-gun holders

    The Kogi State Police Command has directed all licensed holders of guns and other firearms in the state to report to its headquarters latest by July 22, 2015.

    This is contained in a statement issued in Lokoja, capital of Kogi, on Friday by the command headquarters.

    It said that the holders of the guns and firearms should report with their firearms irrespective of whether the licence was obtained from the state or any other states, and irrespective of their renewal status.

    The Police Public Relations Officer,(PPRO) ASP Sola Collins Adebayo, who signed the statement said that the action was informed by the need to revalidate the licences of the existing holders of such firearms.

    According to the statement, the exercise has become necessary in view of the proliferation of firearms and the recent surge in cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes associated with the use of firearms in the state.

    It said that, any holder of firearms that fails to heed the directive, but later found to be in possession of firearms of any calibre would be made to face the law.

    “The case will be treated as being in possession of unlawful firearm and such person will be made to face the full wrath of the law, ” it said

  • ‘Why I want to govern Kogi’

    ‘Why I want to govern Kogi’

    Veteran journalist and former Pro-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Yakubu Mohammed is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State. He spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU and Musa ODOSHIMOKHE in Lagos on his aspiration and vision for the Northcentral state.

    Why do you want to become the governor of Kogi State?

    First and foremost, I am very passionate about Kogi State. I am one of those who were in the forefront in the agitation for the creation of Kogi State. With all the manpower that we have and when we compare our state with others today, we are basically at the mercy end of development. I know that leadership is at the centre of the major challenge that what we have. Our lack of vision for great things could be at the centre of our setback. We have been at a standstill. Many other states have moved. Even those created along with us in 1991, you will not believe what they have today. If you leave us in our own isolated society here, you will think we have made progress. You say okay, we have governors, commissioners. That is not development. Development is not about giving people boreholes or building roads that will last only three years. There should be human capacity development so that people can be relieved, they can develop themselves. They can build their resources to take care of themselves. I went to one of the best secondary schools, Government Secondary School, Okenne. If you go to these schools now, they have collapsed. People go to school today and pass out empty. They cannot write their names, they don’t know the history of the locality they schooled. Somebody was questioned on the Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, he said it is a drama programme. This is where we are today and we don’t deserve to be there. This is part of why I want to be governor of Kogi State. I want to provide leadership that is capable of addressing these problems.

    Why did it take you this long before making your intension known?

    I am not just making my intension known. I vied in 2009 and I went round the whole state. And everybody believe Mohammed was the best, but somehow, the way things happen in this country mysteriously and apparently they don’t have the heart for good people. And so, I did not emerge to the chagrin of so many people yearning for purposeful development and a leadership that will stand out. To their chagrin I did not emerge, some people who had all sort of questionable character handing over them had their way. The other time they brought people who were not aspirants, who were not in the field with us.

    Under which platform did you vie and what is the assurance that the forces that stood against your emergence will not do the same now?

    It was under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Under the party there is all sort of impunity. People could do whatever they like and nobody would ask questions.

    Is that why you defected to the APC?

    Somebody has asked me this question in the past. The truth is that the PDP does not need me. So, I had to leave. The APC provides a level playing field for many people. The APC represents change and so, we are going to change from where we are to where we want to be. I want to identify myself with that change. So, naturally, it is the PDP that pushed me out. To them, what I was looking from them was unpalatable; one way of the other we are not compatible. I was too bad for them. Maybe, my own philosophy does not tally with their philosophy, the philosophy of progress, purposeful development, of equity and justice. Today, people are still complaining of marginalization, victimization and not being carried along.

    There are other aspirants in APC, like, Prince Abubakar Audu and Ocholi likely to vie for the same position. What is the assurance that you will beat them at the primaries?

    These are all my brothers; I am sure we have common aspirations and so on. I believe that God gives to whoever He wants to give, and takes from whoever He wants to take. God’s way and not human’s way. I believe in the almighty God. God has seen that we have suffered in that state. I am sure He will provide good leader for the state. Out of this group if any person is taken good, then he is our leader. I am not desperate to be governor.

    What is the position of the party on zoning?

    I don’t know the position of the party on zoning. But, I know that nobody is excluded from aspiring to the position of the governor of the state. No ethnic group is excluded and every ethnic group is free to vie for any position. All the democratic elections contested in the state had had all the three senatorial districts contesting, so nobody was excluded. This is what we actually want to play down. We are talking of one Kogi State, not one in Igbirra land, one in Kabba or Igala land. Kogi state as it is, is one common status.

    How are you prepared for the election, given that you need money to finance it?

    When I was contesting the other time, Okada riders were giving me money. For them, I symbolize change and good leadership. There was a time someone sends a recharge card of N1,500 to support my campaign. They equally supported me with prayers that I should emerge. These are not people from my place, when I was touring the local government, which I had to spend money. My brothers the Central Senatorial District, my Igbirra brothers gave me the money that I will use in their own district. For all the hours that I used there, I did not spend my money. They provided for food, snacks and everything. Our people know what they want, there are people who are not from Kogi state who believe in this project and are supporting it. They are passionately committed to even development across the country. They are encouraging me to go there to help give Kogi State the development stride. In fact, the issue of money politics has be put aside by the President Muhammadu Buhari phenomenon.

    The popular feeling is that, without the Igalla, nobody can become the governor of Kogi State. How are you enlisting the support of your people?

    First of all, I don’t want to believe that one ethnic group can decide who the governor of Kogi State will be. Nobody has ever emerged without the input of all the ethnic groups in Kogi State. Even constitutionally, it is not possible. You cannot sit down in your comfort zone without the support of Kabba, Igbirra and Igalla people. But incidentally, I am not saying this is an advantage for me, I am an Igalla man. I am not running for the governor of Igalla people, I am running to be governor of Kogi State. I will need the support of Igbirra people, who have always been supporting me without any condition. I need the support of Kabba people. I know their feelings. They had complained about marginalisation and others. These are the issues we can resolve by dialogue. We can sit together to discuss and I know this is a problem squarely on leadership. Though, if you say that is an advantage, which of course I don’t share with you, I am happy to be Igalla. I did not have a choice of where I was born. I could have been born in Okene or Kabba or Lokoja, but it does not matter. Like I said earlier, no ethnic group can emerge the governor of Kogi State without the support of the other groups.

    The impression we have is that the misunderstanding between Audu and Ocholi has led to crisis in the Kogi APC. What is the real position?

    Democracy is about divergent opinions views and conflicts. The reason there is conflict is that, when all of us are looking for something and we all the rush to get it, there will be conflict. If we are to go through this door one after the other, there will be no problem, but when we rush to pass through the door, we are going to jam and there will be conflict. There will be crisis and problem. Where we have different views about issues, there will be element of conflict. But, it is not the type of crisis we have in other places. These people are brothers; we are all from the same family and our leader is Prince Abubakar Audu and some people are accusing him of wanting to be governor again. And that is unfair because he has not told anybody that he wants to be governor again. What he has said is that people are asking him to be governor. That is because he had done his best when he came there in 1991 as our first democratically elected governor. He had the opportunity of being elected again in 1999 and he ran for four years and did very well. So, people don’t forget him very easily. Today, he is our leader. What people are saying is that, as the leader, you are supposed to be an umpire. You sit down and look at those who are running, and pinpoint those who you think will do better. As a leader, you give room for people to contest in a free and fair manner. And, if you are a leader and also want to be a contestant, you are a player, the referee, it will cause problem and that is what people are pointing out. And you who are not in Kogi State, you think the fight is there. The fight is not there, this is what has been resolved long ago. I am not sure Audu wants to become the governor of Kogi State. I am sure that Audu is qualified to become the President of this country, he is qualified for higher things and for us who have been following him are proud of him, and we are wishing him to aspire to higher things. I think it is false accusation. There are people who are misreading him. Audu is very brilliant, visionary, more or less larger than life. Some people are feeling that is being there will create problem for them. So, I don’t think that the man will sit down there as our governor and at the same time wants to be our governor. He has not gone round anywhere telling them that he wants to be governor. There are people who want to worship him, but he does not want to be worshipped because he is not god. We are praying to God to give him long life for higher things. After which Buhari has done his eight years, he should aspire to the position.

    What if your party decides to have a consensus candidate?

    I am not the custodian of party politics, constitution and aspiration. If the party decide on that, that is what it wants.

    If it is suggested for the aspirants to choose, what will you do?

    I will tell my fellow aspirants please pick Yakubu Mohammed as your next governor.

    Have you discussed with the leaders of your party about your ambition?

    I have done that and many people are very supportive. Nobody has denied me what many people have ascribed to me. Nobody has denied it that people say I’m the symbol of integrity, fairness, justice and equity. In all the places I went nobody has accused me of arrogance, lack of transparency and accountability. I have served at higher positions, in fact I was Pro-chancellor of ABU, where they awarded million and millions of naira worth of contracts. During all of these I also got my sitting allowance. I was Associate Editor of New Nigerian at the young age of 26, two month after my national service. They saw the quality in me that endeared me to them. MKO Abiola, the acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 election, the publisher of the National Concord, in 1980, heard that I might be leaving the New Nigeria Newspaper for the Voice Newspaper in my the state of Benue. He came to my house at 11 pm, and said I heard you want to leave the New Nigeria Newspaper, if it is true; I want you to come and edit National Concord. So, in 1982, I was in National Concord and became the editor. The paper was doing 99,000 and 100, 000 copies daily, but, between the time and 1984, I took the circulation 420,000 copies. When we interviewed General Muhammadu Buhari, I happened to be the first journalist to interview him when they staged a coup in 1983. When we ran the interview in Concord it took the circulation to 450,000 copies. Sunday Concord and National Concord were running the interview. During my service noboday accused me of stealing a kobo. During the period I was one of the highest paid editors in the country. When I resigned in July 1984, I did not have N1000 in my account and we set up Newswatch and today, I still do not have money in my account. I might become governor of Kogi State and leave office and would still not have N1000 in my account. In fact, people around me are saying that if I become governor, there will be nothing to chop. But, there will be work to do and our happiness is that we are going to leave a legacy.

    The PDD is accusing the APC of relying on the federal might to bounce back in Kogi State and threatening to use the power of incumbency to stop your dream…

    There is nothing wrong with that the PDP had relied on the fededal power in the past. Jonathan was the incumbent when he contested election and had all the trapping associated with incumbency, what happened to him? So, somebody who is relying on somebody is boasting that the incumbency will give him victory, let see how the incumbency will work.        

  • Pensioners give Kogi govt seven days ultimatum

    Pensioners give Kogi govt seven days ultimatum

    The Kogi State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has given a seven-day ultimatum to Governor Idris Wada Kogi to withdraw the services of a consultant engaged by the Accountant General (AG) of the state, Ibrahim Idakwo to handle pension payment or face demonstration.

    Addressing journalists in Lokoja at the weekend, the NUP chairman, Comrade Onuh Abdullaihi said the ultimatum became necessary to prevent the hijack of payment of monthly pension from the Bureau of State Government Pensions by the consultant which he claimed was engaged by the AG in April, 2014.

    He stated: “Since 2012, pensions have been paid through electronic device or e-platform, but the AG misinformed Governor Idris Wada that such payment were being made manually. The AG requested the governor to grant approval for the introduction of the platform in the payment of monthly pensions and it was approved immediately”.

    According to him, based on the approval, the AG employed the services of a consultant to make the payment in April 2014, adding that the pensioners opposed the arrangement by writing the state government and other relevant agencies on the possible consequence of the action but to no avail.

    He alleged that as a result of the development the names of about 225 pensioners were omitted from the payment voucher in April 2015, while a new placement for receipt of pension in April were also left out.

  • 2016 Polls: PDP re-brands, fields young candidates

    2016 Polls: PDP re-brands, fields young candidates

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) having ruled Nigeria for 16 years and now the opposition party is considering fielding young candidates for the forthcoming elections in selected states.

    The PDP is considering young gubernatorial candidates for Bayelsa and Kogi states in its desire to re-brand the party by involving young people as the new faces of the party.

    Describing the party as one that is bleeding at the moment and in need of redemption is not an overstatement.

    Furthermore, there is no denial that majority of Nigerians have lost hope in the party after its 16 years tenure with a history of broken promises and haphazard performance.

    Some Nigerians now see the party as that of looters and old crooks not to be trusted. The massive onslaught against the party by the current ruling party, All Progressive Congress, (APC) is another factor responsible for the poor perception about the PDP.

    The APC is a party of young and vibrant ideas as exemplified by their involvement of young people in their presidential and generation election campaign. The APC recognizes the place of every Nigerian youth and were greatly rewarded by the youths as majority of them mobilized for ‘Change’ during the last general elections.

    The PDP National Working Committee and the Board of Trustees has woken up to the painful reality that Nigerians will no longer trust the same old politicians within its fold and as such they must evolve new ways to communicate, reach-out and get the support of the Nigerian people, and as such have decided to strategically position young people with good names to become the new faces of the party.

    It was gathered that the former president Goodluck Jonathan has also advised the party to consider fielding younger candidates in forthcoming elections of Bayelsa and Kogi and ensure they make provisions for some influential and brilliant young people in the BOT and the NWC at the next year’s Extraordinary Congress Election when new officials of the party are to be elected.

    Many elders within the party have now accepted the fact that they need to give the younger ones within the party some major roles and advised the party to zone at least 5 positions of the NWC to young people and another 5 to the BOT, following the appointments of Rinsola Abiola, Ismaeel Ahmed and Jasper Azuatalam, 3 young people into BOT of the APC in furtherance to giving young people a strong voice within the party.

    The NWC on its part has agreed to allow the younger generations take over Party Registration and Membership drive as they believe the youths within the party can get millions of Nigerians to once again have confidence in the party and join the party.

    They have also agreed that young people within the party should setup a robust online platform to include Online Membership Registration.

    One of the greatest challenges the PDP has always had is the issue of imposition of candidates on the party which makes it impossible for young party members to secure party tickets or even have the courage to contest for elective positions.

    With the new development within the party, more young people will be able to contest for elective positions within the party. The immediate beneficiaries of this new policy of the party might be two young men within the party who are contesting to become governors of their respective states, Moses Siloko Siasia who is contesting to be governor of Bayelsa State and Mohammed Ali running to be governor of Kogi State.

    Profile of both Persons:

    Moses Siloko Siasia, from Sagabama LGA, a 35year old young leading light of Nigeria was named as one of the 200 Young African Economic Leaders for Tomorrow by Choiseul, renowned French Institute in their 2014 ranking.

    Parisian institute describes Siasia as a young African leader who is reshaping the continent’s economic scene. It said men like Siasia embody the vigour and renewal of an entire continent and carry the hopes of an entire generation.

    Mr. Moses Siloko Siasia is the Chairman of Mosilo Group, with huge investments in Engineering, Real Estate, Oil & Gas, Agro Processing and Project Management. The Group is a wholly owned indigenous Company with strategic partnership with some of the world’s leading technical Companies. The Group has employed over 400 young people and has continued to up the ante in human capacity development locally, with offices in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and United States.

    He is the Chairman/Founder of the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum, a non-governmental organisation made up of primarily young, dynamic and upwardly mobile individuals with innovative ideas that is aiding Nigeria’s development. Siasia conceived the NYPF as a platform for the development of young professionals in Nigeria through quality educational programs, national and global networking and leadership opportunities, the group has united over 7million young professionals globally with presence in 15 countries. A lawyer by profession, he is running under the platform of the PDP and has attracted lots of grassroots support most especially from youths and women.

    Mohammed Ali (39years old), from Dekinah Local Government Area of Kogi, is the immediate past LGA Chairman of Dekinah.

    The governor dissolved the LGA suddenly to frustrate his political ambitions. He has the support of many LGA Chairmen in the state. He was the Secretary National Association of Kogi State Students NAKOS 2002-2004, then became the President of NAKOS from 2004-2005.

    Ali became Special Adviser, Student Affairs to former governor Ibrahim Idris, then Liasion Officer 1 of Dekinah LGA and later elected substantive Chairman of the LGA. When he was Chairman of the LGA, he was elected as the Chairman of the Northern Local Government Forum which compromises of 419 LG Chairmen. He coordinated the 419 LGAs for Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidential Campaign for 2015. Now he is aspiring to govern Kogi State. He is a graduate of Bayero University, kano. He is an Economist. Has a Masters Degree in Economics with option of Petroleum and Energy Economics.

    A new generational leader, he has the support and network of all youth within the age bracket of 30-45years old in all the 21 LGAs of the state.

    Since he declared his intention to run for governor in the state, the PDP that was almost dying in the state has come back to life because the younger generation see his declaration as an opportunity for them. Many who have lost hope in the party have started to once again believe in her.

     

     

  • ‘Why Kogi is not working’

    ‘Why Kogi is not working’

    A member of the Yahaya Bello for Governor Organisation, Mr. Edward Onoja, has said “Kogi is not working because we have left the administration of the state to professionals and insincere politicians.”

    Bemoaning the situation the state found itself, he suggested a paradigm shift in the perception of the people, asserting that the potential of the state would not be realised under the present dispensation.

    Onoja urged the people to support the political aspiration of Bello, noting that his credentials as an administrator would benefit the state.

    He said: “Kogi is not working. We must say it as it is. The reason is that we have left it to bad politicians. We will not leave it to them again.

    “We must bring our best, our experience, our entrepreneurship and support one of us, who is not a regular politician, but is an excellent administrator.

    “Bello, 40, has served in the public service and he has a clean record. He started his company with two vehicles, but today he has a fleet of vehicles.

    “We are talking about good governance and power shift from the old order to the new order. We are talking of a change that works.”

  • ‘Power must shift in Kogi’

    ‘Power must shift in Kogi’

    Public affiars commentator Phrank Shaibu spoke with reporters in Lagos on issues that will shape the Kogi State governorship elections. Excerpts:

    What are the issues that will shape the governorship election in Kogi state?

    I really don’t know how that can be a welcome development for the good people of Kogi State. Rather I think it would come as a curse, if the incumbent governor decides to seek re-election. I say this because many instances abound. For example, the recent public booing of the governor by the citizens during the inauguration of the new House of Assembly speaks volume of the distaste the people have and have developed for him.  In every nook and cranny of Kogi state, the story about Wada Idris’s leadership is depressing but sadly those that are expected to act as political watchdogs and even those officially mandated to check the governor’s excesses in the Kogi House of Assembly either do not have strong teeth or may have compromised for self-aggrandizement. Right now, Kogi State is like a rudderless ship moving with no defined purpose and direction. Under Mr Wada, everything about social and economic development in Kogi State is getting worse. Specifically, in the past three years, Kogi state has found itself in a downward spiral with a governor that is clueless on how to steer it out. This can’t be a welcome development.

    Kogi state has had its share of good and bad times. But, where do you think Kogi State got it wrong?

    The situation Kogi people are facing today is not far from self-inflicted because it was before our own very eyes that a brilliant candidate in Jibrin Isah Echocho was schemed out of the race courtesy of the former national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in active connivance with the immediate past governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris.  I do not agree with you that Kogi state has had its good times. When you say good times, it means we have experienced some form of quality leadership that has translated to betterment of the lives of ordinary kogities. This has not been the case in Kogi state since 1999. We have been unfortunate and we have remained unfortunate, and we will continue to be unfortunate until we make up our minds on the way forward. And one of the ways forward is to dispense with all those that have governed the state in times past. Prince Abubakar Audu and Alhaji Ibrahim Idris inclusive.

    What are the qualities you expect from candidates?

    The PDP is virtually dead under Wada but I hear he wants to run for a second term. How he intends to achieve this remains a wild guess because under him, the PDP base has been grossly eroded and has been weakened at all levels. While the APC is in a precarious situation and may even suffer a dishonorable defeat because Audu’s presence as a candidate will incur voters anger, thus making the prospects of other party contestants better. Indeed, from the results of the recent general elections, it is obvious that the PDP cannot get any better under Wada. Already, the supporters of PDP have made good their threat to abandon Idris Wada as clearly demonstrated in the past general elections where they voted largely for another political party, the APC. What seems clear about Kogi State politics is that a new dawn has arrived for the Kogi people.

    The truth is that, even if the National leadership of the PDP once again decides to subjugate the Kogi people’s choice by organising a shabby party primaries and use it as a facade to further impunity that would ensure that Governor Wada emerges as candidate in the next governorship contest, it will not amount to any major threat to the final results of the state governorship elections especially in this era of reformed electoral processes in Nigeria. The fact is that the weak electoral process in 2011, which advanced impunity for the emergence of Wada as Governor cannot be repeated. I also believe that the collective desire for change in Kogi state may materialise regardless of political affiliation. The simple guess is that in the next elections, people will look more at individuals than parties.

    Are you saying the PDP doesn’t have a chance?

    For now, it may really not be the end for the PDP or absolute victory for any other political party in Kogi’s upcoming governorship elections. Indeed, if the rumour regarding efforts to rebuild the PDP is true and that discussions are ongoing to bring back some disenchanted members of the party like Jibrin  Isah  Echocho, the man of the PDP infamous stolen mandate saga, then it may be a new chapter for the PDP.  Whether the screws will ever tighten on such a proposal regarding Jibrin Isah  Echocho, is a difficult guess because a lot of water seems to have crossed under the bridge and I just pray Echocho agrees to put the past behind him and fly the parties ticket knowing the pain he went through in their hands. Nonetheless, for the PDP to make an impact at the forthcoming elections, it has to shop for a new candidate within its fold because if Wada remains its candidate, then it will mean making a weak party climb a steep hill and the consequences may send the PDP to the dustbin of history in Kogi State.

    But in some quarters, it is believed that former governor Abubakar Audu remains the best from the array of contenders judging by his previous stint as governor of the state. What do you have to say?

    One of the most convincing arguments by knowledgeable analysts on the deplorable situation of Kogi State is that its woes are self-induced both in scale and scope because it dates back to the advent of the 4th republic in 1999 with Prince Abubakar Audu as governor. Please don’t also forget that Prince Audu was also governor of the state in the short-lived 3rdrepublic. Indeed, there has been a bottomless altercation over the political prospects of Kogi state because the Kogi people have been innocent victims of the machinations in the hands of their so called politicians.

     

  • Kogi under siege

    Kogi under siege

    Kidnappers are on the prowl in Kogi State but the state police command says it has the upper hand. JAMES AZANIA reports

    Not too long ago, the media was awash with the presumed kidnap of Kogi State police commissioner Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi. The command promptly issued a statement denying the rumour. But the police statement did concede that the state Commissioner for Land and Housing, Mr Stephen Mayaki, and some others were abducted but were released following police intervention.

    The statement issued from the police public relations office, advised residents to always clarify information with the PPRO.

    •The men IG sent to Kogi
    •The men IG sent to Kogi

    The police was a pointer to the precarious security situation in the confluence state. The situation became so worrisome the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Solomon Arase recently deployed a 350 Special Team from Abuja, aside the release of 30 Hilux vans to the Kogi State Police Command, to help fight the kidnappers and other criminal elements who have laid siege on Kogi.

    In March, 87-year-old American missionary Revd Phyllis Sortor was kidnapped at her school in Emi-woro, Ajaokuta Local Government Area. She regained freedom two weeks later. Her release, said an analyst, was due to the concerted effort of the Americans and not the power of the Kogi State Police Command.

    Before Sortor’s abduction, countless others, including seven Chinese nationals, had fallen into kidnappers hands. Many of the cases remain unresolved, or where the victims regained freedom, family members met the abductors’ demand for ransom.

    In the Kogi Central and Kogi East senatorial districts kidnapping is rampant. The Kogi West senatorial axis that appeared free from such dastardly acts has also picked up in the activity.

    Since 2013 when kidnapping began to rear its ugly head in Kogi, it has continued unabated, surpassing records from neighbouring Edo State. Like past commissioners of police in the state, Mr. Ogunjemilusi talked tough on arrival, warning the men of the underworld to relocate from the state.

    “I have zero tolerance for criminals,” he had said.

    Such threats appear to have fallen on deaf ears. Apprehension grows in the state, as no one knows who would be the next victim, just as well-meaning or rich individuals live in fear as they and their family members are the target of the kidnappers.

    Eighty per cent of kidnappings in the state have been of high profile individuals. Though the victims’ families always claim not to have paid ransom for the release of their loved ones, cases of kidnapping remain on the increase, bringing to question the claims of no ransom payment for previously freed victims.

    Between June 2013 and June 2014, close to 15 kidnap cases were recorded officially, with several other cases dealt with quietly. The development to some pundits must have worked against the government’s efforts to woo investors into the state. It has also affected some of its infrastructural development programmes, with the Chinese nationals who are behind many of such projects leaving in droves.

    The first reported case of kidnapping in 2013 was of one Mustapha who was abducted from his home at Ihima in Okehi Local Government Area. His remains were later discovered buried inside a forest around the area some weeks after. Sometime in August of the same year, the younger brother of a former governor of the state, Prince Abubakar Audu, was kidnapped by gunmen at his Aloma home in Ofu Local Government Area. He was freed after two weeks, with the arrest of a suspect whose bank account was used for the initial demand of N30,000, ‘for the upkeep of the victim’.

    Hardly had the dust of Audu’s brother’s kidnap settled when the bursar of the Federal Polytechnic Idah was kidnapped while his younger brother who was on the scene was killed by the abductors. The bursar was released three weeks after, following the payment of an undisclosed amount as ransom.

    In 2014, the kidnappers commenced their business early in February when the wife and daughter of the former Chairman of Adavi Local Government, Salihu Adaviruku was kidnapped from her house. The woman and her daughter spent over three weeks in captivity before their release, and after undisclosed amount of money was paid to the kidnappers.

    Barely a month after the release of the politician’s wife and daughter, the two sons of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Momoh-Jimoh Lawal were kidnapped at his resident in Okene, Okene local government. They lads, the oldest being seven years old at

    the time of their abduction, remained in captivity for over two months as a result of the inability of the Speaker to come up with the N200 million ransom demanded by the kidnappers.

    Though the police arraigned five women in court in connection with the Speaker’s children’s abduction, the case has continued to linger.

    While the people of Kogi Central were still contending with the kidnap of the Speaker’s sons, Hajia Hawawu Bello, the mother of the Managing Director, Fair Plus Transport, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, was abducted on May 28, 2014, at her Nagazi resident in Adavi Local government.

    The menace headed East, as the Rector of the Federal Polytechnic Idah, Mathew Akpata became the next victim. Luck however smiled on him when the vehicle in which his abductors were conveying him to their hideout got involved in an accident and the rector abandoned inside the boot of the car.

    On May 31, 2014, the Registrar of same higher institution, Idah Poly, Abu Kazim was abducted from his house at the school premises.

    Two days after Revd Sortor’s abduction, the Director of Adavi Local government, Abdulazeez Ohere, who had earlier been kidnapped, was rescued by the police.

    Kidnapping in Kogi had mostly been limited to the Central senatorial district, until the Chinese firm, CGC, arrived at the capital, Lokoja. By November 2013 when a Chinese worker was kidnapped in Ganaja village, a suburb of the metropolis, the rate had surged.

    Police advice to the Chinese firm not to pay the ransom demand was allegedly rebuffed as the firm did not wait for the security operatives to handle the matter. The Chinese, apparently unsure of the ability of the police to handle the situation, hurriedly danced to the kidnapper’s tune and paid the ransom. That, according to pundits, was their undoing.

    Within the next 30 days, seven other Chinese workers were abducted, and ransom secretly paid for their release. The state government only got wind of it when the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Gu Xiaojie visited the state last December and informed the state government

    of the ordeal his citizens suffered in the hands of kidnappers while working along Ajaokuta Road. Since then, it would appear that the kidnappers have gotten serious with the ‘business’ in view of the ease in getting ransom.

    A source who pleaded anonymity said kidnapping continues unabated in the state because some police officers are also part of the kidnap cartel. He alleged that some unscrupulous officers feed the kidnappers with information as to the movement of prospective targets and offer themselves as go-between in times of negotiation for ransom payment.

    Recently, the kidnappers struck once again, this time around kidnapping a High Court Judge, Justice Samuel Obayomi of Ebogogo High Court in Adavi Local Government Area.

    Obayomi had recently survived a motor accident and only resumed duty after three months on hospital admission.

    The gunmen who seized the learned judge while he was on his way to the office around 8.45am, shot his orderly Corporal Usman Musa who died on the spot. The operation was said to have lasted about five minutes.

    The driver, Mr. Ajayi Kolawole gave an insight into what happened, saying that the heavily armed gunmen numbering three wore no mask, only dark glasses, and stopped their vehicle in front of Executive Guest Villa, Government Reservation Area (GRA), Okene.

    “The gunmen ordered the judge and his aides to lie face down. We all complied but the hoodlums perhaps saw the armed orderly as a threat and opened fire on him, killing him on the spot,” he said.

    Area Commander of the Okene Area Command, Mr. Kehinde Kolawole who confirmed the story said the police had arrested the driver to help in their investigation, adding that the driver being an eyewitness, was likely to give them adequate information.

    The Chief Judge of the State, Justice Nasir Ajanah who later visited the family of the kidnapped judge said every effort would be made to ensure the release of their breadwinner.

    Barely one week after Obayomi’s travail, the State Commissioner for Land and Survey, Engr. Stephen Mayaki was seized by unknown gunmen.

    The commissioner was kidnapped at gunpoint in his farm located in Osara, in Adavi, the same LG were the High Court Judge was kidnapped.

    Sources said the gunmen numbering about five and driving in a Prado Jeep traced the commissioner to his farm.

    The commissioner was said to have been abducted along with four of his aides who were later released, with the instruction that they go and source for fund for his release.

  • Suspected kidnappers free Kogi judge

    Suspected kidnappers yesterday freed a Kogi State High Court judge, Justice Samuel Obayomi.

    A source told our correspondent that the judge, who was kidnapped about a month ago on his way to Ebogogo High Court in Adavi Local Government, where he presides, was freed yesterday morning.

    Although his abductors demanded N150million ransom, it could not be confirmed if the money was paid.

    On the day of his kidnap, his police orderly, Cpl. Usman Musa, was shot dead.

    Police spokesman ‘Sola Collins Adebayo confirmed that the judge had been freed.

    Pressed for details, he pleaded for time, urging our correspondent to call back.