Going by the statutory laws of the country, on January 27, 2024, the current administration in Kogi State led by Alhaji Yahaya Bello will expire. Gladiators seeking to succeed the governor on the platform of the ruling party are now engaged in a high-wire politicking and manouvering to clinch the ticket, Daily Trust on Sunday reports.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has set the ball rolling in consonance with the electoral laws by approving April 14, 2023 for the All Progressives Congress (APC) delegate election to chose their standard bearer for the November 11 governorship election in the state.
By the account of the party screening exercise, penultimate week, 19 aspirants who indicated interest by purchasing the expression of interest form were screened and 18 of them have been confirmed qualified to jostle for the party ticket.
According to the record from the national headquarters of the party, those who have been cleared include Abdukareem Jamiu , Sanusi Ohiare, Ahmed Ododo, Salami Deedat, Shuaibu Audu, Yakubu Oseni, Momoh Jibri, and Yusuf Okala , Ashiru Idris, Edward Onoja, Stephen Ocheni, Abubakar Achimugu, Idachaba Friday, Salaudeen Abdkudus, David Jimoh, Smart Adeyemi, Muritala Ajaka and Halima Alfa.
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The secretary of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APCPCC) and chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance, James Abiodun Faleke, who bought the expression of interest form earlier, withdrew from the contest.
He was reported to have returned the nomination form back to the screening committee, citing personal reasons.
“I am of the opinion that my personal interest must not override national interest. I, alongside several other supporters, worked hard for the election of our leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It would be out of place for me to jump out of the team to start pursuing personal goals,” he said.
It is worthy of note that seven out of the 18 aspirants eyeing the party’s ticket are from the Kogi Central senatorial district, where the current governor hails from, while 9 and two of the aspirants are from Kogi East and West senatorial districts respectively.
Our correspondent gathered that the succession bid has triggered off a lot of intrigues within the party since the exercise began. Suspension of party members, strategising of groups and realignment of interests have taken the centre stage.
The first noticeable shenanigan that cropped up was the suspension of party members.
In a swoop decision, the state House of Assembly, resuming from election holidays in their first plenary suspended 9 legislators and four out of seven local governments chairmen and their deputies, who were recommended to be axed by the leadership of the party in the state.
According to the state chairman of the party, Abdullahi Bello, who signed the letter, the council chairmen involved had been suspended by their ward executive councils, and as such, they ceased to be members of the party.
He said the affected chairmen were “suspended for gross misconduct, insubordination and anti-party activities during the just concluded general elections.”
The state assembly claimed to have acted on the recommendation of Governor Bello to suspend 9 out of its 25 members “for gross misconduct, terrorism, electoral violence and anti-party activities during the just concluded general elections.
As the uproar that greeted the suspension of the lawmakers and council chairmen is still renting the political space, the news of the suspension of a member of the National Working Committee(NWC) and the national deputy organising secretary of the party, Yakubu Muritala Ajaka came up.
The entire executive members of the APC, Ajaka ward 1, Igalamela/Odolu Local Government Area, in a letter dated March 20, suspended Ajaka over “alleged anti-party activities, insubordination, gross misconduct, unguided statement, running parallel party structure and encouraging factionalism.”
In a twist three days after, the ward chairman of the party, Omale Danladi and the same exco member denied authorising any letter suspending Ajaka. In a sworn affidavit deposed to at the Kogi State High Court, Danladi said they were deceived.
“There was no meeting of the ward 1 executive to suspend Alh. Murtala Yakubu Ajaka. I unequivocally deny the letter, along with the allegations contained therein as same is completely false,” Danladi stated in the affidavit.
Surprisingly, Governor Bello condemned what is going on in the party, warning members and aspirants to shun divisive tendencies that would weaken the party as the election draws closer.
It was said that it took the intervention of the governor for the party to stay action on the suspended of Ajaka.
Also, a former commissioner for information in the state, Dr Tom Ohikere, raised eyebrows over the intrigues in the party.
He said, “You cannot be issuing suspensions, causing strife, suspicion and acrimony at such a time when the party is going into an election.”
An insider confided in Daily Trust on Sunday that Ajaka had bought over 40 vehicles for the party during the recent general elections and had a robust relationship with the governor, which resulted in the later assisting him to get the position of the national deputy organising secretary of the party.
The suspended member of the Kogi House of Assembly, representing Ijumu constituency, Olusola Kilani Olumo, described the allegation against him and eight others as “unfounded and ridiculous.”
In a petition to the Department of State Services (DSS) he alleged that the governor vowed to deal with him and other lawmakers for failing to obey his marching orders to win the just concluded House of Assembly elections by all means.
Apart from the drama of suspensions, issues of home and Abuja-based politicians, delegates lists, power rotation and ethnicity remain the kernel of the horse-trading to produce the party’s standard bearer.
Power rotation has always been a burning issue in the state any time it is going through political transition. There is the argument that in the spirit of justice, equity and fairness, power should shift to the Kogi West senatorial district.
For instance, the Kogi Youth Ambassadors (KYA), which has members across the 21 local governments areas in the state and led by Prince Abdulsalaam Abdulraheem Ozianda, said that other ethnic groups should be allowed to have a taste of power.
In the same vein, Dr Tom Ohikere, who is leading the Coalition of Kogi State Patriots, is demanding for power rotation to the West.
“From 1991 when the state was created, Kogi East has governed at different times for 20 years, uninterrupted. The governors were Abubakar Audu (National Republican Convention: 1992-1993), Abubakar Audu (All Peoples Party: 1999-2003), Ibrahim Idris (Peoples Democratic Party: 2003-2012), Idris Wada (PDP: 2012-2016),” he said.
But the senator representing Kogi Central and chairman of Senate Committee on Cybercrime and ICT, Yakubu Oseni said zoning or rotation of governorship never existed in Kogi politics, stressing that the electorate should be allowed to chose their leader based on capacity to deliver.
Senator Oseni added that Kogi East ruled for 16 years without regard to oning, insisting that this has laid zoning rhetoric to rest; hence, anybody can contest.
Daily Trust on Sunday also learnt that the list of delegates is causing uneasy calm within the party hierarchy.
Aggrieved party members led by Comrade Rilwan Ayimaje and Goodman Akwu, the former APC state secretary, are reported to have gone to court to seek redress over the delegate lists said to have been submitted for the primary election.
In its preliminary ruling on March 30, a Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice J. K Omotosho, said the plaintiffs and respondents in the case should maintain status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit. Omotosho adjourned the case to April 17 for further hearing.
The implication of this is that the party may be forced to adopt direct mode of primary election where every registered member would be allowed to vote.
Governor Bello is said not to have hidden his desire for a member of his kitchen cabinet to succeed him in order to ensure a continuity of his ideals.
Addressing members of the party and aspirants recently, the governor told them that he would ensure that a member of his team succeeds him.
“Nobody will come from outside and jump into this ship. Where were they when we were trying to build the ship? They were not around,” the governor had said.
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that aspirants like Jibril Momoh (accountant-general of the state), Idris Ashiru Ashiru (commissioner for finance) and Chief Edward Onoja (deputy governor) are the men to watch out for in the game ahead.
It was also noted that Yakubu Muritala Ajaka may not be a pushover as he is said to be wielding enough influence within the party at both the state and national level.
Many political analysts have said that being the ruling party, the intrigues in the APC are expected, adding that more should be expected.
