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  • Kogi 2015: Wada’s second term blues

    Kogi 2015: Wada’s second term blues

    Until the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came up with the resolution that there would be no automatic ticket for Governor Idris Wada, only two aspirants showed interest in the party’s ticket for the November 21 governorship election in Kogi State. With the party’s stance and Wada’s acceptance, it has become an all-comer race. Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, examines Wada’s second term blues.

    If Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State gets the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to contest for a second term in the  November 21 governorship election he will host his loyalists to a special thanksgiving or a survival party of sorts. This is because Wada, who had expected an automatic ticket to fly his party’s flag in the election, suddenly found himself contending with very powerful forces within and outside the party determined to deny him a second term in office.

    The bitter distrust arising from the intrigues that led to the cancellation of the party’s ward congress, which was, according to a source, worsened by the position of the National Working Committee of PDP, was and is still too deep to allow all members of PDP in the state to work together.

    An insider, a top official in Lokoja, told The Nation this week that Wada’s men did not understand the depth of the crack within the party until it was almost too late. “It took us time to understand the level of hatred of some so-called PDP chieftains to the governor here in Kogi and their resolve not to cooperate with him in the coming elections. So, we were working with the illusion that it is one family,” the source lamented.

    This seems so for by the first week of this month, August, when the party’s working committees in the local government councils from the Eastern Senatorial District publicly endorsed the governor to run for a second term in office, his admirers said the automatic ticket story will come true.

    Mr. Idris Waja, the chairman of the forum of the party’s local government councils working committees in the zone, who disclosed the endorsement at a press conference in Lokoja, the state capital, had explained that the decision to adopt Wada was “to avoid rancour and unnecessary bickering which,” he identified as “the greatest undoing of the party during the last general elections.”

    Calling on his colleagues in Kogi West and Central senatorial districts to “similarly adopt the governor in the interest of the party, growth and development of the state,” Waja therefore called for “a consensus arrangement that would save the party a lot of money and make the party more formidable to contest the governorship election.”

    As expected by keen observers of Kogi State politics, this call was, within some weeks, followed up with reports of similar endorsements of Wada by some PDP elders from Kogi West and East senatorial districts.

    The elders, said at the conferences where they declared their endorsements, that “Wada deserves a second term in office to enable him continue his developmental projects in the state.”

    Senator Tunde Ogbeha, the  Leader of Kogi West PDP elders, was quoted as saying in a communique that over 150 members attended the meeting where they took the decision to endorse Wada for a second time.

    The cycle was completed when the Kogi East PDP elders also reportedly gave their endorsement for Wada on the occasion of Igala Summit held at Anyagba, Dekina Local Government Area.

    As would be expected, Wada was so excited of the endorsements that he told his supporters at Anyagba, during the Igala Summit, that his brand of politics was not that of ‘do or die’. Observers said he may have read the situation then and had concluded that the coast is not only clear but also that he would not have a major obstacle ahead as he strolls along to pick the ticket for reelection.

    It was on this note of certainty that Govenor Wada formally declared interest to seek reelection on the ticket of PDP. His supporters, emboldened by the reports of endorsements, most of which were allegedly sponsored or stage managed, thought the race would certainly be a walk over.

    But all that has since changed as it has become obvious to all that Wada would have to work hard not only to retain the ticket of his party, the PDP, but also to win the November governorship election in Kogi, given the growing influence of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state and across Nigeria.

    The first concrete evidence that Wada’s reelection bid would not be a mere tea party was when his bitter rival, Alhaji Jibril Isah (Echocho), ignored reports of endorsements and automatic ticket for Wada and formally declared interest in the governorship race. As Echocho, Wada’s old political rival, collected the form,  thus formally joining the race, even the governor’s aides and associates acknowledged that the contest had begun.

    There is also the presence of Muhammed Ali, who, like Isah, is ready to slug it out with Wada. Ali has what one of his associates described as “good reason to engage his former boss in a political battle, if for nothing to prove  a point and to seek a way of bringing out the hidden truth.” Although the associate did not explain fully what he meant by hidden truths, it would be recalled that Ali, the former chairman of Dekina Local Government, was sacked by Wada over some unsavoury allegations while in office.

    On the part of Isah, better known as Echocho, his entry into the race was described by one commentator in Lokoja as “Wada’s big headache.” This assessment is mainly because of the bitter political rivalry between the two, which peaked in the run-off to the party’s governorship ticket in 2011. Till date, Echocho’s supporters still nurse deep grudges against Wada over the manner their principal lost the party’s ticket to Wada in 2011. They have allegely sworn never to allow a repeat of the scenerio ahead this year’s elections.

    More than the personal strength of Echocho, Ali or any other aspirant or stakeholder in the state, is the reality of the allegation that some powerful elements within PDP at the national level have planned to replace Wada with Isah. The Nation gathered that Wada has since reached out to his contacts across the country, especially in Bayelsa State, in a desperate bid to neutralize the influence of such personalities.

    PDP v APC: The power game

    Besides the issue of some powerful personalities within the state allegedly ganging up to stop Wada from returning to the Government House, the other factors that he may have to contain with include geopolitical considerations, and the current realities arising from the strength of the two leading political parties.

    Recent investigations show that although the ruling PDP in the state still lays claims to being in control of the local governments’ political structures, the All Progressives Congress (APC), which boasts of habouring a galaxy of top politicians in the state, has grown so much in the state that it probably has more than 50 percent chance of snatching the coveted seat from the PDP this November. This reality has received further boost by the emergence of APC as the ruling party at the federal level and by the overwhelming popularity of its change campaign in the state. The influence of the change campaign on Kogi citizens can be better appreciated by the fact that Kogi State is today the only state in the North-Central geo-political zone of Nigeria that is still a PDP state. All the other states in the zone are now APC -controlled states. As a result, APC change campaigners are putting everything within their kitty to win the state.

    Internal geopolitical agitation

    As has been the case for some time now, the issue of power change in the state is not just limited to change from PDP to APC. It is not also limited to change from the aged to the youths. More than all these, there is this desperate and persistent call for a shift of power from the Kogi East to either Central or West. This is another battle that Wada, an Igala from Idah Local Government Area, must win to return to the Government House. Advocates of this call have consistently argued that “the easiest way to dislodge the Igalas of Kogi East from power is for the Kogi Central and West to come together under one voice to vote one candidate.”

    The passion with which these advocates of power shift have carried out their campaign is fired by the fact that the Eastern Senatorial District, where Wada comes from, has been producing governors since the creation of the state.

    While Wada’s supporters, for fear of swimming against the tide, may not out rightly condemn the current call for power change on geopolitical ground, they have tactfully aligned their arguments on the ground that this may not be the right time to effect the change, pledging that the governor will need another four years to consolidate on his achievements.

    For example, the Kogi State PDP publicity secretary, Chief Bode Ogunmola, put up that argument in a recent television chat, when he said, “I am from the Central Senatorial District, it is my wish that one day I should be the governor of Kogi State; no doubt about that, but we are saying that we should sit around the table and talk about it. Must we kill ourselves because of power shift?

    “The Eastern flank has nine local government areas, Central has five and the West has seven. Let us sit down and talk.  We don’t need a haphazard arrangement only when election is around the corner. We want power shift, but when election is over you go back to sleep and you forget about it. Let us sit down as reasonable human beings and agree that when this district finishes, the seat goes to Central or West.  Let us have a template, let us constitutionalise this; we cannot fight over this. God that brought us together did not bring us together to come and kill ourselves because of power.”

    While Kogi East continues to depend on the argument that politics is a game of numbers, there is no doubt that for Wada, his return to the Government House, will, to a very large extent, depend on his response to the desperate call for power shift in Kogi State.

  • Kogi 2015: Revisiting Wada’s second coming

    As the governorship election in Kogi State draws close, possible permutations on chances of respective contestants have started emerging from an assortment of quarters. Even conjectures regarding the likely party standard-bearers are unfolding while party primaries are yet to be conducted. In as much as these efforts may just be regarded as speculations, there exist some pointers that convey probable truths and worries about the forthcoming elections. Emphatically, the echoes of imposition of candidates are beginning to sound very loud especially in the camp of the present ruling party, the PDP, where the incumbent Governor, Captain Idris Wada, has indicated interest for re-election.

    Presently, the gossip being peddled is on Governor Idris Wada’s endorsement by his party’s national leadership.  This purported approval though best assumed as mere hearsay, has in a style reminiscent of rumours, sent a message that has been promoted by its beneficiaries to rapidly travel round the political spectrum of Kogi State.  Well, for many analysts, if at all this is anything to go by, it simply means that the PDP which Governor Idris Wada belongs to, is entangled in a risky  issue of skewed political disposition that may expose a  serious jeopardy resulting from political party impunity as witnessed in the 2011 PDP elections.

    Right now, even though Governor Idris Wada bills himself as the best candidate from the PDP for the forthcoming elections, nevertheless, his public rating has hit rock bottom as the suffering of Kogi people has become increasingly obvious with escalating unemployment and gross dilapidation of public infrastructure under his leadership. These compelling facts about Kogi State in Governor Idris Wada’s present tenure, no doubt, suggest the existence of an avalanche of intolerable and unprogressive actions of a leader.  Already, Governor Wada’s government has been tagged with many derogatory labels as regularly expressed in the media, thus making his tenure an embarrassment to the PDP. Consequently, the belief by many Kogi citizens is that there is no testimony to Governor Wada’s claim on strong credentials in governance aside from commissioned articles in the newspapers and paid advertorials. Indeed, these negative indices have signaled that Governor

    Wada’s ambition to contest for a second tenure can only find sustenance and victory in a flawed electoral process. Realistically, any party with such a candidate should be deeply troubled.

    Now that Governor Wada’s underperformance has become a major concern for the Kogi electorate, the likelihood that he would be made the PDP candidate in the forthcoming election will further distance the party from politics of consolidation and stability.  Simply put, the conclusion by the majority of Kogi voters is that Governor Idris Wada’s second coming is offensive to their sensibilities.  Thus, it is evident that any party that presents him would find it extremely difficult to win the votes of the majority. The point herein is uncomplicated because, barring a divine intervention or an act of God or sudden intervention of the national leadership of PDP for a fresh candidate, the opposing APC party will defeat the PDP with landslide victory in the coming elections.  Thus, any endorsement extended by the PDP leadership to Idris Wada for a second term in office will obviously expose the quality of its leadership and to a large extent, the party’s intentions for the Kogi citizenry.

    Presently, many observers of the Kogi politics believe that for progress to be witnessed in the state there would be a strong need to bring about leadership adjustments that will overhaul its governance. Unfortunately, Governor Idris Wada seems to be at variance with such a concrete reality because his recent remarks while speaking on how he would easily defeat the opposing APC party at the polls do not reflect an understanding of the complex political situation in Kogi.  In fact, Governor Wada’s  comments on his anticipated victory are not only shocking but they invite suspicion because instead of focusing on the major hurdle of party  primaries, he rather chose to delve into matters relating to the major electoral contest, thus, indirectly confirming that the party primaries is already a done deal for him. How he arrived at this, may not be very far from allegations that he has planned to manipulate the party primaries.

    Nevertheless, given Governor Wada’s poor track record and lack of evidence on fresh initiatives, it is hard for any objective mind to feel optimistic about his assumptions of electoral triumph. Indeed, for a large section of the Kogi electorate, the popular public opinion has shifted unfavourably against Idris Wada. Thus, his rumoured choice as the PDP candidate will not only make Kogi election unexciting and uncompetitive but will be PDP’s gravest error since it exited the status of national ruling party in Nigeria. Indeed, if Governor Wada eventually emerges by hook or by crook as the PDP candidate in the forthcoming elections, the picture that will be portrayed is that the PDP has advanced a failure strategy and has again repeated the unpopular approach of party imposition. On this, some analysts predict that such may not only guarantee the PDP an early loss at the Kogi polls but might make the PDP unfit to be victorious in any of the twenty one local government councils in the state.  If this happens, it is unlikely that the PDP would get any moral consolation when it gets defeated at the elections.

    Besides the fact that Wada’s purported party endorsement is already feeding the APC propaganda mills, it is important to state that the main political battle for the PDP right now is not necessarily the struggle between its candidates or even between intra political camps but rather between Idris Wada and the majority of Kogi citizens.

    The simple reality about Kogi politics is that the incumbent Governor, Idris Wada has fallen far short of the people’s expectations and does not seem to have the faintest idea of how to make Kogi work. Consequently, his second coming must be tamed by his party leadership, especially now that it has been reported that some high-minded appeals have already been made by PDP party faithful to Governor Wada to step down for another PDP member in the coming election.  It will be most honourable for him to accept such soft landing because Lord Lugard’s House certainly deserves a new occupant and the PDP will do well in giving the Kogi electorate a candidate that will enable them make a good choice. On the other hand, a refusal by Governor Wada to step down, might not only lead to the sinking of his party’s ship in the forthcoming elections but expose his selfish politics of defiance that will only end up watering the seeds of victory for APC opposition party.

     

    • Onyegbule wrote in  from Ogori Magongo
  • Kogi 2015: More aspirants seek Wada’s job

    Kogi 2015: More aspirants seek Wada’s job

    As aspirants and  parties prepare for the November governorship election in Kogi State, James Azania in Lokoja reports on some of the leading aspirants for the top job.

    With the Independent National Electoral Commission’s release of the time-table for the Kogi State governorship election and the collection of forms by aspirants of the two major parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), the battle has shifted to who will fly the parties’ flag on election day.

    While the PDP on the last count has no more than three aspirants that are vying for its ticket, the opposition (APC) party has 28, and both parties and their aspirants have commenced preparations.

    Though there are about 19 political parties in the state, the dominant ones remain the APC and the PDP and the real battle will be between both.

    With the formal declaration by Governor Idris Wada that he will seek re-election and the collection of governorship election form by his bitter rival, Alhaji Jibril Isah (Echocho), the contest can be said to have begun.

    Muhammed Ali, the former chairman of Dekina Local Government is the only other aspirant from the PDP that has indicated intent to contest against Wada. Ali was sacked by Wada over alleged sleaze in office.

    Echocho’s entry into the race will be a big headache for the camp of Wada as he is believed to still be smarting over the manner he lost the party’s ticket to Wada in 2011 and is determined not to allow a repeat of it this November.

    Those vying to become the Kogi State APC governorship candidate include former Governor Abubakar Audu, former Acting Governor, Chief Clarence Olafemi, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, Suleman Baba Ali, Prince Rotimi Yaqub Obadofin, Olusola George Olumoroti, Dr Alex Kadiri, Prince Rotimi Obadofin, Dr Tim Nda Ditchie, Suleiman Ejeh Abutu, Chief James Ocholi (SAN), Tunde Irureka and Dr Habeeb Yekeen.

    Prince Abubakar Audu

    A charismatic politician, Prince Abubakar Audu is the first civilian governor of Kogi State. From the majority Igala tribe, Audu has been on the political terrain since the creation of the state in 1991, when he was elected governor under the Ibrahim Babangida political experimentation. He became full term governor under the defunct All Peoples Party (APP), which later transformed into the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

    In 2003, he lost in his re-election bid for a second term as governor to Alhaji Ibrahim Idris of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and has insisted that he was rigged out. He contested for the governorship under the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), again in 2011,

    As a former governor, Audu is the APC leader in Kogi State. His four years as governor were hailed as the best in the history of the state’s development. While he remains the arrowhead of the APC in Kogi State, his ambition is however receiving challenge by those who either want him to only maintain the position of party leader and others, who are advocates of power shift in the state. He remains most formidable.

    Alhaji Yahaya Bello (Fairplus)

    Alhaji Yahaya Bello took the Kogi State APC by storm. At 40, his quest for the party’s governorship ticket has received wide acceptance among advocates of paradigm shift and those calling for power shift to other senatorial districts of the state. As the initiator of the Kogi Youths Arise Group which mobilised heavily for the Mohammadu Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation in the state, he is reaping from his support to the party, both at the state and federal level.

    Called Fairplus by his supporters, Bello, who is from Kogi Central Senatorial District, is a successful businessman. He is touted as an excellent administrator. His entrance into the race has made predicting the outcome of the APC governorship primary slated for August 29, more difficult to predict, as his entry has been generating interests, amongst advocates of power shift in the state.

    His support for the party during the last presidential, national and state houses of assembly elections has endeared him to many, as he is seen as a committed politician. Our investigation shows that he has been going round the 21 local government areas of the state in the last two months. He can spring surprises in the race for the APC ticket.

    Clarence Olafemi

    A former Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Clarence Olafemi once acted as the governor of Kogi State.

    An experienced politician, Olafemi was one of those that secured victory for the party in Kogi West at the last general election. A grassroots politician, he was one of the chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party that spearheaded the exodus of members into the APC.

    His record during the period he was Acting Governor of the state, which was judged above average by many, has made him remain relevant in the political configuration. That record has become a selling point for the aspirant. He is one of those that was said to have been adopted by the Okun Development Association (ODA), the umbrella body of the Okun people.

    The agitation for power shift, if considered, could work in his favour owing to his political network across the state.

    Suleiman Baba Ali

    Alhaji Suleiman Baba Ali, a former Commissioner for Health under the then administration of Prince Abubakar Audu, is from Lokoja Local Government, a minority area in the Kogi Western Senatorial District.

    A businessman-turned politician, he was one of the early starters for the governorship race and one of those pushing for generational shift in the administration of the state.

    Ali, a nephew to Prince Abubakar Audu, is also an advocate of power shift to the two other senatorial districts of the state.

    Recently, he was said to have been adopted by the Kogi West/Central Elders Committee on Equity and Justice, as its sole candidate from the two zones, after several screening exercises carried out by the committee to prune down the number of aspirants from the zones. And, though the claim received bashing from other camps, his supporters hold tenaciously to their view that he is the preferred candidate.

    Senator Alex Kadiri

    Senator Alex Kadiri, a former PDP chieftain was one of those that defected to the PDP before the last General Election. He dumped his former party based on grievances bordering on lack of internal democracy.

    From the majority Igala tribe, Kadiri is not new to governorship contest in Kogi State, haven contested at the primary levels in the past against Prince Abubakar Audu and former Governor Ibrahim Idris and against incumbent Governor Idris Wada, under different parties.

  • I’m not for do-or-die politics, says Wada

    I’m not for do-or-die politics, says Wada

    Kogi State Governor Idris Wada has decried do-or-die politics.

    He said he would accept defeat in a free and fair primary election by .

    The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ruled out automatic ticket for the governor’s re-election bid.

    Wada, who was at the national secretariat of the PDP yesterday to obtain his nomination forms, said he was not bothered by the party’s position.

    He said: “If I win, I will thank God. But if I lose in a free and fair primary, I will support whoever emerges. It is not a do-or-die affair.”

    The governor admitted that the Buhari Tsunami had an impact in Kogi.

    He, however, said contrary to the impression that the PDP might have faded out, it still had a strong base across the three senatorial districts.

     

  • Kogi 2015:Wada seeks another term

    Kogi 2015:Wada seeks another term

    After months of speculations, Kogi State Governor Idris Wada has formally declared that he will seek re-election.

    A statement by the Government House said the governor accepted to seek re-election, following the pressure mounted on him by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elders and other stakeholders.

    Wada was quoted to have said: “The words of our elders are words of wisdom. I’ve come to appreciate in the last few weeks that before elders speak, they must have used experience, patience, candour and courage.

    “This latest gesture by our leaders has added to the weight of responsibility that I shoulder. My pledge is to surpass your expectations, God helping me.”

    The statement added that the stakeholders, besides endorsing Wada as the party’s candidate ahead of the November 21 governorship poll, also agreed that power rotation be entrenched in the state body politics.

    They resolved that after the tenure of the incumbent, power should rotate between the West and Central senatorial districts.

  • 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.
  • Wada woos youths

    Wada woos youths

    The Kogi State government has said its policies were geared towards empowering youths to become self-reliant, despite the economic realities.

    Governor Idris Wada, who spoke through the Senior Special Assistant on Special Projects, Alfa Ibn Mustapha, on the premises of the Nigeria-Korea Partnership Institute of Vocational and Advanced Technology, Lokoja, said government would provide the right training for the younger generation.

    He said the institute, to be inaugurated tomorrow, would provide vocational training in computer technology, automobile technology, electrical and electronics, among others.

    Wada said his administration’s investment in education was to ensure that the state trains manpower that could man the transformation drive of his government.

  • The battle ahead for Governor Wada

    The battle ahead for Governor Wada

    WITH less than four months to the Kogi State governorship election and different groups and stalwarts of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state endorsing Governor Idris Wada’s candidacy, it is easy to deduce that the governor, who is currently serving his first term, has the upper hand in the race for the party’s ticket.

    PDP statutory delegates, PDP Elders Forum, Forum of Special Advisers and Kogi State Indigene in Diaspora, among others, have all endorsed his candidacy. But whether the barrage of endorsements will translate to victory for him at the poll scheduled for November 21 is a different kettle of fish.

    The Forum of Local Government Delegates, made up of members of the executive councils of local governments in the state have since endorsed Wada with a vote of confidence it passed on the governor. Group leader, Idris Atabor Waja, said the decision to endorse him was borne out his achievements in the last three and a half years.

    Waja said: “In spite of human, financial and other challenges, Governor Wada has been able to make giant strides in the area of infrastructural development. One of such strides is the ongoing construction of the School of Medicine in the Kogi State University, the Odu General Hospital, Dekina, among others.

    “It is against this backdrop that we deem it necessary to publicly pass a vote of confidence on the governor and to say that we have tested him in the last three and a half years and he should be allowed to continue to fly the flag of our party to contest the coming governorship election in the state.”

    Atabor, who said the party failed at the last general election because of the activities of political prostitutes in its fold, said the party will regain its place in the next governorship election in view of the ‘political evangelism’ that had been embarked on to revive the party in the state.

    “To this effect, the party has constituted a five-man committee for each polling unit. The committee, like religious evangelists, will embark on house-to- house sensitization to win members back to the party. We failed because some of our members were political prostitutes, taking vital information out and revealing our strategies to our opponents,” Atabor said.

    But the worth of Atabor’s olive branch to party members, who according to him engaged in anti-party activities during the general election, to the effect that they have been forgiven, can only be assessed after the governorship election. For now the reality on the ground is indicative of anything but the return to the party of earlier defectors described by Atabor as political prostitutes.

    The Kogi State Indigene in Diaspora, which has also joined the endorsement train, said during a press conference organised by Consolidation Group that Wada is the party’s only credible choice for the November governorship election. The convener of the group, Arc. Isimi Baba, said: “Capt. Wada has done well within a difficult economic situation. Amidst difficult financial challenge, the governor has been able to manage the payment of salaries to workers in the state as well as achieve ground breaking progress in infrastructural development.”

    In spite of the endorsements however, Wada faces an uphill task in his bid to retain his seat. Unlike the easy ride he had in the 2011 election, the tides appear to have changed remarkably after the wind of change that blew across the state during the last presidential and National Assembly elections. In the said elections, the All Progressives Congress did not only win the presidential race by a wide margin, it also swept the three senatorial seats and six out of the nine seats in the House of Representatives.

    With the APC at the helm of affairs at the national level and the PDP in the saddle in the state, observers are quick to conclude that the election bodes the father of all battles.

    Incidentally, the PDP had wrestled power from the opposition in 2003, when the immediate past governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, defeated the then incumbent governor, Prince Abubakar Audu of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). As things have turned out, Audu remains a factor in the current governorship race. As the undisputed leader of APC in the state and a governorship aspirant on the party’s platform, Audu has become the Achilles heel the PDP must be wary of.

    The defeat the PDP suffered in the hands of the APC in the March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections was the first of its kind since it took the baton of leadership in 2003. Muhammadu Buhari of the APC polled 264,851 votes to defeat the PDP’s candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who then was Nigeria’s incumbent president. Jonathan got 149,987 votes. The APC also won all the three Senate seats and six out of the nine House of Reps seats, conceding the remaining three to the PDP.

    The outcome of the March 28 polls was a reversal of the trend of elections in the state since 2003 when PDP at various elections had managed to dominate winning the three senatorial slots and virtually all the House of Representatives seats with the exception of one in 2003 and two in 2011. The PDP also has 20 out of the 25 state House of Assembly seats in the last legislature against the 14 it managed to garner at the last outing.

    The latest trend no doubt jolted the PDP family and left many political analysts to see it as a sign of what to expect at the governorship poll.

    The gale of defections by PDP bigwigs from the East and West senatorial districts to the APC has also not helped matters for the incumbent governor. The trend is similar to the one witnessed in the run up to the 2015 general elections when two former speakers led PDP defectors to the APC in January. The task is becoming more daunting for Governor Wada and his supporters, so much that not even the most optimistic of Wada’s supporters is willing to wager that he will be returned.

    After the presidential election, the PDP in the state has made serious effort to bounce back. But pundits say the outcome of the House of Assembly election, where it secured a slim majority, is no good omen for the party.

    Still smarting from their loss at the presidential poll, both the leaders of Kogi PDP and their followers had gone back to the drawing board, and two weeks after, achieved a marginal success by winning 12 out of the 25 seats in the State House of Assembly election. The APC got seven while INEC declared the remaining six inconclusive. At the end of the rescheduled State House of Assembly election, the PDP had 14 seats and APC 11.

    A look at the House of Assembly election showed that the joy of the PDP was short-lived in view of the outcome of the elections in the six constituencies earlier declared inconclusive. Two the four areas where the PDP lost were Dekina 1 and Dekina 2 where the governor hails from.

    And while Wada rode on the wing of his predecessor, Ibrahim Idris, to the Lugard House, there are rumours of strained relationship between them, which may deduct from the former’s fortune. The influence of workers in the state, which weighed in favour of Wada against his then

    opponent, Prince Abubukar Audu during the 2011 contest, is also believed to have waned as teachers and local government workers have had a rough deal under the present administration.

    As things stand, the Kogi governorship election is for the APC to win, but Wada stands to benefit from the internal crisis that is brewing within the latter. The high number of governorship aspirants is threatening to turn the party into a theatre of war.

  • 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
  • Second term: Wada keeps people guessing

    Second term: Wada keeps people guessing

    Kogi State Governor Idris Wada yesterday kept the people guessing over his second term ambition.

    Despite his purported endorsement by the Kogi Elders Council, the governor during a Ramadan fast breaking with members of the

    Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kogi State council, at the Government House, Lokoja refused to be drawn into the fray when asked.

    Wada, who had just returned from Abuja where he attended the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, hosted reporters, including Christians, but later went for a Ramadan fast breaking at the Government House, after which he responded to questions, including the payment of civil servants’ salary arrears.

    On whether or not he will contest for a second term, the governor said the decision was in the hands of God.

    His words: “I think you should have asked that question after we have done the Tharawi prayer. But since we are in a Holy month, I must answer truthfully. Second term is in the hands of God Almighty, that’s where I am. Thank you very much.”