Wale Ibrahim, Lokoja
The declaration by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State to seek for second term in office has not only continued to elicit contrary opinions, but also brought to bear the rising tides of oppositions within and outside the state against him in the last two weeks.
Although, by virtue of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended, the governor is eminently qualified to contest for second tenure if he so desires, but barely 24 hours after the declaration of his intention to vie for the exalted seat on November 2, 2019, a lot of issues have started playing up. The social and traditional media, as well as other platforms have been awash with both the positive and negative sides of the governor’s expression of interest and why his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, must not consider him for re-election.
Prior to the release of the governorship election’s time table by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the leadership of the APC were in jubilation mood, basking in the euphoria of its electoral successes during the just concluded National Assembly/presidential and the state Houses of Assembly elections, as the party performed creditably well. As such, the party hierarchy believed that such a positive performance would rub off well and pave way for automatic ticket for the governor. However, opposition is mounting by the day, as some elements are working assiduously to ensure that he does not pick the party’s governorship ticket eventually.
Watchers of political events from the formative period of APC in the state are of the view that the unfolding events have not come as a surprise, given the manipulations that heralded the coming of the incumbent governor, who came second in the party’s governorship primaries in August, 2015. The effect of the manipulation, it was learnt, will continue to play a major role in who becomes the next governor of the state come November.
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The APC hierarchy at the national level under the immediate Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun was accused of failing to apply wisdom in settling the seemingly succession crisis that followed the sudden death of the party’s flagbearer in the 2015 election, late Prince Abubarka Audu, who was already coasting home to victory before the election was declared inconclusive by INEC and subsequently ordered for supplementary election.
It was argued that when the question now arose as to who succeeds the late APC candidate, the national leadership of the party should have called the state executive to fashion out a better option in resolving the emerging crisis. But alas, they opted for Bello, which led to the beginning of a cold war and now a war of attrition.
A source said: “Leaving Audu’s running mate, James Abiodun Faleke, who co-sponsored the election expenses behind to pick someone else was the greatest undoing of the party, particularly the ignoble roles played by some party stalwarts, who wanted to hijack power from Audu’s political group. The late James Ocholi on the one hand and Senator Dino Melaye and cohorts on the other hand schemed for the emergence of Bello as governor, although Senator Malaye later became the number one enemy of this administration for reasons best known to him.
“Sadly, the matter went through Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal to Appeal Court and finally to the Supreme Court and the apex court gave Yahaya Bello victory. Expectedly, the winner should have been magnanimous in victory and brought the entire warring factions together under one umbrella to work for the progress of the party and the state at large. The God-given victory was, however, used to punish all the perceived enemies, particularly the state executive council of the party. All the loyalists of Audu/Faleke were sidelined and they started recruiting new party members.
“As it were, Kogi State is a mini Nigeria with several ethnic groups. It is, however, basically sitting on the tripod of the three major ethics groups: the Igala from the eastern flank, the Ebira from the Central Senatorial District and the Okun Yoruba-speaking with Igbira Koto, Lokoja, Owo and Kakanda in Kogi West. No doubt this has always played major role in determining who becomes governor of the Confluence State.”
Checks, however, have revealed that the major opposition party in state, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has already zoned the governorship ticket to the Eastern Senatorial District, being the largest group in state with nine local governments, more wards and more in population in terms of voting strength. As part of the strategies, juicy positions have been zoned to other senatorial districts to stop Bello’s second term aspiration.
Sources also told The Nigerian Xpress in Lokoja that the struggle for the soul of the Confluence State would be a battle between the centripetal and centrifugal forces, as concerned loyalists of the ruling party are working against the interest of the incumbent governor. They recalled that recently, some aggrieved members of the party from the state thronged the national secretariat in Abuja to protest against the second term ambition of Bello, urging the National Working Committee, NWC, not to give him ticket.
The removal of the executive members of the party after Bello won, which resulted in a lingering legal tussle and other critical issues, have come to play, as the day of reckoning is drawing nearer for the governor.
It is being argued that unless APC wants to lose the state, it should not give Bello its ticket to contest for second term. Some party members are even arguing that the untold hardship under the present administration was unrivalled in the state since the beginning of the present democratic dispensation in 1999.
Those who argued against a second tenure for the governor basically on the dwindling fortunes of the social economic status of the people in state in the past three years stated that with the present economic situation, another four years would spell doom for the citizens. It was noted that the step taken to reform the civil service was a welcome development when it was first carried out, but it later turned out to be a disaster when salaries could no longer be paid to workers as at when due.
The tragic-comedy aspect of it all was that many senior citizens, who meritoriously served the state, have been screened out of their pension scheme in the last three years. Some are currently going through a traumatic economic experience and health-related issues, while many others are dead. As at today, many civil servants are still claiming that government has not paid them for 20 months or thereabout.
The only consolation for members of the party for now, it was gathered, is the disposition of the new National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, who always prefer party supremacy above all other considerations, as noted during the party’s primaries before the 2019 general elections when those who flouted the party’s guidelines lost out. These members are waiting for the decision of the party to determine which direction to go in the no distant future.
Such thinking was given impetus with the way that even a performing governor like Akinwunmi Ambode in Lagos could not pick a return ticket. This, according to the members that nobody can predict what would happen to the party’s ticket before the November election.
As is the case in political circle, there are some other members of the party, who think that the governor must be allowed to run for second term. Their argument is that to the best of his ability, he has done well, considering some of the projects executed across the state, relative to the revenue accruable within the same period. They also contended that when the Igala were holding forth at the Lugard House, they had always been allowed to contest for second term.
At the presentation of Certificate of Returns to 25 members of the House of Assembly, elected on the platform of the party recently at Hope Confluence Hotel in Lokoja, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Edward David Onoja, had disclosed that there was no vacancy in Lugard House till January, 2024.
Onoja, while fielding questions from journalists, explained that the performance of the party during the presidential, National Assembly and state House of Assembly elections in the state was an indication of what would happen come November.
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“The APC won in the presidential elections and won two of the senatorial and seven House of Representatives seats. We are also aware that the APC cleared all the 25 seats in the state assembly, a history-making victory since the creation of the state. Don’t forget that the APC in August last year won a by-election for Kogi Lokoja Federal Constituency. APC winning all elections in the state since we came on board is no mean achievement and it is an indication that come November, we’re not expecting anything, but a clear win. In the African adage, our elders have a saying that what happens in the morning is a determination of what would happen in the evening. For Kogi governorship, with finality, I can say, there is no vacancy in Lugard House,” he stressed.
The Chief of Staff noted that with the House of Assembly now made up of all APC members, it would engender quick passage of laws and smooth implementation of government policies. He assured the people of better days ahead, promising that the state government is making frantic efforts to clear all outstanding salaries and pensions.
Bello, in declaring for second term, said there was the need for him to build on the numerous achievements recorded during his first term in office. The governor noted that his interest was to see that the people of the state are united in all ramifications, a venture that he lauded his administration of achieving because of the sincerity and equity with which he runs the affairs of the state.
Though November is still some seven months away, Governor Bello is already upbeat about his party’s chances, stating that his government had been able to demonstrate a clear distinction between the past, the present and what should be expected in the future for the leadership of the state.
In a separate interview, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Matthew Kolawole, expressed appreciation for the support the legislative arm has been enjoying from the executive, which he said had birthed progress in many fronts.
He was particularly appreciative of the role of the executive in providing a tranquil atmosphere for them to operate, especially the physical and logistical developments that took place in the legislature.
A chieftain of the opposition PDP, who is also a member of the House of Representatives, representing Yagba Federal Constituency, Sunday Karimi, has, however, challenged the governor to show any project he has commissioned in the past three years.
Karimi lamented that there was no single project initiated or executed in the last three years by the Yahaya Bello administration, even as he pointed out that there were no good roads in Lokoja and other parts of the state.
The PDP chieftain assured the people that his party would rescue the state from the maladministration and incompetence of the ruling APC and Bello, who he said, lacked the vision to govern the Confluence State.
