Kogi APC Primary:  Onoja, Others Withdraw as Bello Endorses  Ododo

Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

Ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election in Kogi State, scheduled for today Friday, the Deputy Governor, Edward Onoja, and the Chief of Staff to Governor Yahaya Bello,  Mohammed Abdulkareem Asuku and other have withdrawn from the race.

This was announced at the stakeholders’ meeting of the party held yesterday  in Lokoja.

The meeting was held at the party’s Secretariat and  hosted by the state governor,  Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who therefore unveiled his preferred candidate as the Auditor General of the state, Ahmed Usman Ododo.

Meanwhile, Onoja and Asuku announced their withdrawal from the governorship race via their respective verified Facebook pages shortly after the meeting in Lokoja.

Onoja, whom many had thought will naturally succeed Governor Bello before now, posted a cryptic message on Facebook, which reads: “To God be the glory for life and divine health. My appreciation to my leader, HE Alhaji Yahaya Bello and all my supporters for your love and prayers. Let love, patience and perseverance lead. I am forever grateful.”

On his part,  the governor’s Chief of Staff, Asuku, who was also seen as a frontrunner because of his closeness to the governor, posted: “Alhamdulillah! Alhamdulillah !!Alhamdulillah !!! All praises and adoration are due to the most high God the greater of the entire universe and the sustainer of same who have safeguard my life and that of my immediate family and well wishers to witness this moment in my life. I sincerely appreciate His Excellency, my benefactor, for all that Allah have been using him to do in my life. As such, I hereby submit myself publicly to the decision taken today(yesterday) and I will forever live to remain loyal and dedicated to the decision of my party as I enjoin all my well wishers to work with us for our great party APC to become victorious in the November 11th General Election.”

In a similar development, other aspirants like Mr David Adebanji Jimoh; a former Commissioner for Finance, Asiwaju Ashiru Idris; Okala Yakubu, and Momoh Jubril have also withdrawn from the governorship race.

However, the Chairman of the Primary Election Committee,and Zamfara state Governor, Mohammed Bello Matawale said that all other aspirants who had not withdrawn from the race are free to participate in Friday’s primary to be held across the state.

But endorsement of  Ododo, is against expectations and agitations that   power should rotate to the Kogi West.

For instance, James Faleke recently lent his voice to the issue of power shift the state. In a statement, he said:”I wish to add my voice to the various opinions being expressed by many on the vexed issue of which part of Kogi State should produce the next Governor, it has become imperative for me to let Kogites know my stand irrespective of my decision not to participate in the primaries for reasons I stated earlier.

“For equity, justice and fairness, it is only reasonable to lend my voice to the call by many that our great party, the APC should ensure the candidate for the governorship election emerged democratically from Kogi West.

“For a heterogeneous State such as Kogi State, giving all parts of the state a sense of belonging is key to peaceful coexistence among the several ethnic groups in the state.

“For more than 16 years, our brothers from the Eastern Senatorial District held sway in Lugard House through Late Prince Abubakar Audu, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris and Captain Idris Wada respectively.

“Kogi Central by the end of the tenure of Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello would have been in the saddle for  eight  years, uninterrupted.

While not discounting the right of those concerned to contest for any office, I believe that the time has come to be just and fair to all.

“The clamour for power shift pre-2015 by Kogi West and Kogi Central was to correct the marginalization of the two Districts in the Governorship seat.

“My position is not premised on any sense of entitlement but on the ideals of equity and fairness which late Abubakar Audu preached before his untimely death.

“The victory of our great party,  APC in 2015 especially in Kogi West was the avowed commitment of Late Prince Abubakar Audu to ensure power shifts to other parts of the State.

APC cannot afford to be in opposition in Kogi State and all hands must be on deck to make sure to convincingly win in the November 22, 2023 Governorship.

“There are several states in Nigeria where Governorship positions are rotated amongst the three Senatorial Districts with attendant Peace, unity and progress, why must we be different?

“We must eschew things that could continually engender bitterness, distrust and disunity amongst us especially when deciding on who should be the Chief Executive of this great State.

What should  be of importance is our collective quest and preparedness to engender a united Kogi State for socio-political and economic prosperity.

“The realization of a long-term dream of a State that is secure and prosperous with its diverse demography peacefully coexisting should be paramount in our minds. This can only happen if we collectively decide on fairness, equity and justice.

“The weird equation of 16:8:0 must be corrected and the right time to start is now with the coming election.

As a party, we must go into the November 2023 elections with a common sense of purpose devoid of insensitive and unbridled ambition.

“I hereby appeal to my brother, His Excellency Yahaya Bello to recall the circumstances of his ascension to power and do all within his sense of reasoning as the leader of the party in the state in ensuring he doesn’t toy with this rare opportunity to be on the positive side of history. Just as the Progressive Governors of our party made history before the APC National Convention and those names will remain written in Gold in Nigeria. Posterity is the judge of all humans and may it judge us all positively.”