The Igala people, who are residents in Kaduna under the aegis of Ukomu Igala Organization, have rejected the endorsement of Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, by the Attah of Igala for second term in office.
The group said, as a voice of Igala people, they will never support or endorse a governor that cannot pay salary of workers for 28 months, thus subjecting the people to suffering and poverty.
An elder statesman in Igalaland, Engineer Samuel Salifu, disclosed this at the inauguration of new executives for the Ukomu Igala Oganization, Kaduna State chapter.
He explained that the Ukomu Igala will only endorse a governor that identifies with the aspirations and values of their collective will and not somebody that has no practical projects to show the world.
He said: “The Ukomu Igala therefore, rejects in its entirety, the present situation where the governor of Kogi State would hoodwink our traditional rulers to go and endorse him before the Nigerian President. We are equally grateful for the President’s response. How do you expect Igala people to endorse a governor who styles himself as the white lion?
“Who goes about boasting that the average Igala man’s wife can be purchased for as little as N6,000 or a governor who brutally and senselessly boast that no Igala man can contest the governorship with him. A governor who cannot fix the streets of Lokoja, the state capital?”
He added that the Igala people will not endorse the governor for a second term even if 10,000 thugs would be monetized.
Engineer Salifu said the Ukomu were looking for a man or woman who respects and understands the collective value of Kogites, whose antecedents are known to Kogites, whose star is in the hearts of the young and old alike that will move the state towards a greater height.