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How He Doesn’t Want Another EBIRA Man To Be Governor
If you travel to Kogi State this very minute, the only subject on the lips of many Kogites is the coming governorship election scheduled for November 11 this year. The people can’t wait to go to the polls to elect another governor. Governor Yaya Bello’s tenure is almost over, a new governor will be elected into office. And as the clock ticks closer and closer to D-day, the gladiators involved in the election are sweating hard to ensure they have put in place every little strategic detail that will guarantee their emergence as the next governor of Kogi state.
Without a doubt, this will be possibly Kogi’s biggest governorship election showdown ever. It is going to be a two horse race between the PDP governorship candidate, former senator Dino Melaye and his APC counter part, the relatively unknown political rookie, Usman Ododo. He, Ododo, is the man favoured by the outgoing governor of the state, Yahaya Bello. Nobody saw his emergence coming. He was certainly not one of the big boys on the APC card. But the very crafty and wily Yahaya Bello played his joker when he put forward the last man no one thought would ever emerge the APC governorship candidate.
From the outcome of the governorship primaries held in April, this year, the race has devolved into ethnic contest with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) producing Alhaji Usman Ododo, from Kogi Central Senatorial District, which has the Ebira, as the dominant ethnic group, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket went to Senator Dino Melaye of Okun ethnic group of Kogi West Senatorial District.
The district also has a strong contender in Leke Abejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), whose party clinched two of the three Federal Constituencies in Kogi West and a seat in the Kogi State House of Assembly at the February/March polls. Also, in contention from Kogi West is the young, vibrant entrepreneur, Olayinka Braimoh of the Action Alliance (AA).
Although Alhaji Muri Ajaka, who represents the Social Democratic Party (SDP), is one of the seven candidates from Kogi East (Igala/Bassa), he is widely regarded as the ‘consensus’ candidate from the zone.
But here is the part that has got many talking. After eight years rule of his kinsman, Governor Yahaya Bello, Alhaji Usman Ododo, the APC candidate from Kogi Central, is treading the path of a possible additional eight years rule of the Ebira. And that is something other tribes from the state have vowed not to allow happen. They consider it unfair and unacceptable if another Ebira man is elected governor and allowed to rule for another eight years. That will make a total of sixteen years of Ebira rule and that’s something the PDP governorship candidate, Dino Melaye, has sworn he won’t let happen!
But the Yaya Bello camp does not appear bothered by the hue and cry coming from a section of the state over the candidacy of Ododo as the flag bearer of the APC. He is believed to be comfortable in Kogi Central, his homestead, where he is the sole candidate. No other political party has fielded a candidate from that zone, which accounted for half of the winning votes for the APC in the 2019 election. Ododo may also have the incumbency factor working in his favour, as he is counting on the overwhelming support of Governor Bello, political office holders and APC structures across the three senatorial districts, as well as the anticipated federal might.
At the last count, his camp has won more converts from the main opposition PDP, especially from Kogi West. Some prominent politicians, who used to call the shots in the PDP, lately have been falling over themselves in wide endorsement of the APC candidate.
It was indeed a master stroke. Yahaya neither gave out an inkling of who his successor will be leaving others to guess, nor did he openly show his hand until two days to the primary when he anointed Ododo, the former auditor general in charge of the local government as his chosen successor.
By then, it was too late for any serious opposition or political realignment that could upset the apple cart.
Many observers believe that Bello’s endorsement of Ododo is practically an attempt at self succession as both are from the same village, the same local government and the same senatorial zone, contrary to the demand for rotation. He claims that his zone has only done eight years and should be allowed to complete 16 years as Kogi Central, before it goes to the west.
Another of his tactics, which many watchers of Kogi politics say he deploys in order to draw people’s attention away from his failing is in stirring up controversies. His latest action may have unwittingly armed his opponents with the munition to challenge him at the poll to ensure he fails. Already there are talks of a ground swell of forces coming together to scuttle his self succession bid.
A number of controversies marked Bello’s tenure. These include electoral fraud, incitements to violence, and U.S visa ban, N20 billion hidden bank account, among others.
Recall that on 14 September 2020, Bello was among a list of politicians placed on visa ban by the United States Department of State for undermining democracy in Nigeria. While activists praised the decision and called on other developed nations to impose similar bans, Bello accused the United States of partisanship and claimed the 2019 Kogi State gubernatorial election was mostly peaceful and fair.
There is no gainsaying the fact Yaya Bello’s anointing and eventual emergence of Ododo has split the party in the state into many factions. They all hold different positions on the matter of Ododo holding the party’s governorship ticket with a couple of them already working at cross roads with the party. As it is, it’s already clear that, unless a reconciliation meeting is called, some of these aggrieved factions will not work for Yahaya and his anointed successor, Usman Ododo. And this leaves the door wide open to Dino Melaye to walk in and win the governorship election. Contrary to expectations of many, Kogi governorship election may not be as keenly contested as projected. With division in the rank and file of the APC in Kogi State, the election could be a walk in the park for the PDP strong man.
Many have also argued that, out of all the other contenders to the throne within the APC rank, talking about Edward Onoja, Abdulkareem Asuku, Jubril Momoh and Smart Adeyemi, Usman Ododo is clearly the political lightweight of the bunch. He is the rookie, the one with little or no political experience and zero followership. And you can trust that Dino Melaye will take complete advantage of this. It will be a herculean task for Ododo to take on a heavyweight such as Dino Melaye. The biggest political risk you can take is to throw a Dino Melaye in in the ring with a rookie like Ododo. Political pundits say Dino will literally run over Usman Ododo on the battlefield. And like somebody said on national television, Dino is expectedly excited that he has been handed a gentleman like Ododo to contend with come this November 11 when Kogi will go to the polls to elect a new governor. Dino relishes the battle, he is confident he will win and he has been telling people that there’s no way another Ebira man will take over the Kogi governor’s office.
Another factor that keeps bothering lots of APC loyalists in the state, particularly those who know Ododo closely, is the fact the gentleman does not seem cut out for the rugged and murky waters of politics. They say he is too much of a gentleman and in politics, the last thing you want to be is a gentleman. Especially not when you’re going up against one of the most rugged and fearless politicians to come out of Kogi State, a man without scruples in the mold of a Dino Melaye. He will run you aground even before the battle begins.
Some concerned members have wondered what a man like Ododo is doing in politics. They are worried that with Ododo in the fray, the contest might be a walk in the park for Dino Melaye unless something drastic is done and very quickly too.
Another factor that will also work for Dino Melaye is the fact that Ododo is seen or perceived as an extension of the Yahaya Bello administration in the state. It appears a lot of people are not happy with the governor’s performance in the last eight years. The civil servants in the state are said to be particulary unhappy with him. There are talks he is owing salaries and pension and appears the least bothered about the well being of the civil servants. The opinion of many is that the people are tired of the APC in the state and are craving for a change, and the PDP, led by former Senator Dino Melaye, appears to be the change they desire to embrace. They do not want anything that will be a reminder of the Yaya Bello administration. All of these are what will work for Dino Melaye.
And trust Dino Melaye, he has been screaming from the rooftops, making it very clear that, “there’s is no sane person in Kogi State that will vote for the APC in Kogi State.”
The PDP governorship candidate hinged his confidence on his conviction that the people of the state have suffered unjustly on account of the outgoing “maladministration” of the Bello-led APC administration.
We have suffered so much in Kogi State, we are in the den of the evil forest in Kogi State.
Melaye said, “As I speak, Kogi is the only state where a serving permanent secretary is taking Okada to the office, in Kogi a level 16 officer is taking 16 thousand salary. There is a state of decadence, poverty, corruption in Kogi State, these are people with families.
“The present administration undertook a needless civil service exercise, retrenched, sacked and kept some people hanging. Some others died for traveling from far places to the state capital for screening and accident happened.
“In the history of the state, we have the largest number of missing persons in Nigeria, even the PDP Chairman of Okene local government area for four years we are still looking for him.
“You can only imagine the number of missing persons in Kogi State, not to talk of those murdered in broad daylight. Two months ago 27 people were killed in Ejule in one day.
“These shows that we have a lot of work to do because the state has been completely bastardized, economy in shambles, hospitals are mere consulting clinics, no roads, the great water works done by former governor Ibrahim Idris, today it is eleven months, no water in lokoja the state capital.
“That is the type of state we are going to inherit.”
Speaking about his level of preparedness for the task of governance, Melaye said, “Among all the candidates and parties participating in the governorship election in Kogi State, only the PDP is working on a policy document.
“We promised when we got the mandate of the people that we are going to do things differently.
“What we are doing here is to announce to Nigerians that the incoming government in Kogi State, by the grace of God will do things differently.
“No any other party is talking about policy document apart from the PDP and by the time i have looked at this document, I have read it, it is not only robust, but a solution book.”
According to him, the PDP policy document was a product of a scientific research on the sections of the state economy requiring urgent attention in order to revive the economy and set the state on the path of growth.
On his plans to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of the state especially civil servants, the PDP candidate said, “The civil service in Kogi State will be reformed and we will pay salaries 25th of every month and it will be full salary.
“Today in Kogi there is no middle class, it is only the rich and the poor and today those in government are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
“ Two billion was released to Kogi State Government as palliatives by the federal government, but today not one person in Kogi has benefited from that money. Instead they sat down and appropriated it and said others would be used for road construction.
“By the grace of God, local government money will be local government money under the incoming PDP government. Fifteen, ten years ago, local government areas in Kogi State were doing projects, rural roads, today no local government in Kogi can dig a well.
“Local government have no vehicles, salaries were not paid, some LG secretariats are under lock and key. But we are saying that a new day is coming.
“Kogi is too blessed to be poor, i brought people from outside Nigeria who did a scientific research and gave me the mineral resources in Kogi State.
“We have 52 mineral resources in Kogi State out of which only one has been tapped, limestone.
“The rest are just there, we have Uranium, we have the largest deposit of Uranium in Nigeria in Kogi State. Yet we are not participating in this market. We have others in commercial quantity.”
Going by reports available to City People, lots of Kogi people are excited by the prospects of having a Dino Melaye emerge governor of Kogi State because of the things he tells them each time he gets the opportunity to speak to the people. He has shown immense promises and a profound desire to turn the state around. If he would be able to make good his promises remains to be seen. But first, there is the November 11 hurdle to cross first. Till then, all that the people of Kogi and other Nigerians interested in the Kogi governorship race can do is keep their fingers crossed and watch how things pan out.
– WALE LAWAL
(08037209290)
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