Kogi East Stakeholders Promise SDP Guber Candidate 75% Votes 

Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja

Critical stakeholders of Kogi East Senatorial District have promised to deliver 75 per cent of the zone’s  votes to the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Murtala Ajaka.

Known as the Critical Stakeholders of Kogi East, they assured Ajaka of winning a landslide in the Kogi governorship election slated for November 11, this year.

Their promise was conveyed at a  press conference in Abuja where they drummed their resolve to queue behind Ajaka.

Chairman, Critical Stakeholders of Kogi East Senatorial district, Simon Achuba, said Ajaka would win 75 per cent of the votes in Kogi East and  landslide in the entire state “We are confident that Alh. Maritala Yakubu Ajaka (Muri) will win 75 per cent votes in the nine  local governments in Kogi East (Igala/Bassa land).

“We are also confident by our opinion survey that Alh. Muritala Yakubu Ajaka shall win landslide in most local governments in the Central and Western Senatorial Districts of Kogi State.”

“Are we still going to allow three local government results to be written to overwhelm 18 other local governments again? God forbid!!!.

“Notwithstanding the error of 2019 and the injustices suffered thereafter by the people of Kogi State irrespective of tribe, we call upon INEC to be free, fair and open in her dealings in Kogi State.

“ In other words, we wish to reiterate our confidence in INEC hoping that we have a free and fair election on 11 of November 2023 in Kogi State,” he said.

He cautioned the people of Kogi State to be at alert and not allow Governor Yahaya Bello to achieve a third term through his kinsman.

“What we need do is to be vigilant and protect our votes. Instead of Yahaya Bello to pick a candidate from Kogi East or West, he picked Usman Ododo from his own local government.

“I believe this is a ploy to perpetuate a third term agenda. If this is allowed to go through, his wife may become our Governor in 2027. God forbid!!!. We call on all well meaning Kogites,  irrespective of political, ethnic and religious divide to rise up and resist the evil seed being plotted in Kogi State.

“Yahaya Bello, instead of picking a candidate from West or East, be opted for a cousin brother from the same local government and polling unit,” he stressed, and accused the governor of being wasteful.

“It has been seven years and eight months of reckless plundering of our state resources without any tangible legacy to show for his two tenures. Rather, all legacy projects by his predecessors have been sold off without reinvestment.

“I know as a matter of fact that about N14

 billion was paid to Kogi State by the federal government for a road constructed by his predecessor. Can the successor of Bello expect such legacy fund?

“It is like day-dreaming to think so. He had the opportunity to write his name in gold but turned it down. He will be remembered for bad governance and violence perpetrated in Kogi State,” he alleged.

According to him, the result of the election will shock the governor come November 11.

He called on the security agencies to keep a close watch on the state.

“We wish to call on Inspector General of Police (IG), Chief of Army Staff, and other Heads of security agencies in Nigeria to keep a close watch on Kogi State. You recall that in 2018, Kogi State Government imported some military software.

“The National Assembly raised  the alarm. I spoke on the same matter in 2019, letting the world know that the importation was without licence.

“The questions is a government (civilian government) doing with military software? From that time till date, killings, violence, kidnapping and various levels of crime have multiplied. Shall we continue to elect those who attack us, kill us and treat us unjustly even to the extent of denying us our salaries and benefits?,” he queried.

“We call on INEC and law enforcement agents to do the needful especially in Kogi East where violence has been escalated to ensure that the expected massive votes of the people is bastardised, or suppressed for the party in power to unjustly have her way. “This intervention is being sought to avoid the people of Kogi State taking laws into their hands having been so maltreated and shot at in 2019 using a government helicopter in Lokoja to shoot at voters,” he further alleged.