Addressing newsmen after the screening, Adeyemi called on the Governor Yahaya Bello not to become a tribal leader.
He said he made the call following speculations in some quarters that the Governor was working towards ensuring that his kinsman succeed him.
Adeyemi advised the Governor to maintain the statesman status he used in conducting the affairs of the State and in the way he made appointments
While the calculation to retain power continues to gain momentum in Kogi Central, the West is also agitating that, for the interest of justice, fairness and equity, it is their turn to produce the next Governor come 2023.
This argument among the three major zones in Kogi State has continued to generate mixed reactions, with the battle line now drawn on who to produce the next Captain in Luguard House.
OBSERVERSTIMES recall that political analyst in Kogi State, Ahmed Tijani said Nigerians, especially Kogites are patiently watching the body language of Governor Yahaya Bello as it concerns the 2023 Governorship election in Kogi State.
According to him, “the campaign for the retention of power in the Central might throw the State into an unwarranted crisis. He opined that for the interest of peace and oneness, Kogi State should not be thrown into a family or ethnic business where others will see themselves as refugees in their own State.
“Whatever we are seeing now are mere propaganda. The Governor has always preached on peace irrespective of our ethnic, religious or political affiliations. This campaign of 16-16-16 agenda should just be thrown in the dust bin to avoid calamity in our State. What we should be talking about is good governance and nothing more.
“Are we saying that someone that is capable to govern the State from another region should not be considered because he is not from a particular place? It is high time we Nigerians put away sentiment and our greed to face the reality on ground. We are all clamouring for a better Kogi State. So, this issue of 16-16-16 agenda should not be our focus ahead of the 2023 Governorship Election”.
Although Governor Bello has continued to remain mute on who wears his shoes after the expiration of his tenure in 2024, the faith of the Deputy Governor, Chief Edward David Onoja is still hanging in the balance as he was part of the frontline of EBIGO movement, (Ebira, Igala and Okun).
Plot to Retain Power in Central
Various groups have come out recently to voice their mind on the need to sustain the 16-16-16 agenda in Kogi politics. For some groups, the East should wait for another 24 years before they should think of grabbing power in Kogi State.
To buttress this, a pressure group, under the auspices of Kogi West Vision Initiatives (KWVI), called for the retention of the governorship position in the central senatorial district of the State in the spirit of ‘Ebigo Agenda’.
According to the group’s President and the Secretary-General, Chief Babajide Olorunmaiye and Arch. Oluwasegun Thomas, respectively, the ‘EBIGO Agenda’ should come in the form of 16-16-16.
The group said their position was informed by patriotism and the need for equity, justice and fairness.
OBSERVERSTIMES gathered that EBIGO is an acronym for Ebira, Igala and Okun, the three dominant ethnic nationalities in Kogi State.
According to the group, the Igala ethnic group has occupied the governorship position for sixteen years, noting that the entire State since 2016 have been supporting the Ebiras to equally complete their own sixteen years.
They proposed that after the turn of Ebiras, power would then shift to the western senatorial district (Okun) who would also hold sway for sixteen years.
“We in Kogi West Vision Initiatives align with the recent position of the Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Matthew Kolawole on the need to allow an Ebira successor of Governor Yahaya Bello so as to enable the central senatorial district to complete their fair share of EBIGO Agenda,” the group said.
