Kogi guber: Bello’s eyes on PDP primaries Incumbent Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State recently secured the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress to pursue his second term ambition in office. Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State said Bello emerged winner of the governorship ticket by polling 3,091 votes to beat nine other aspirants who contested the governorship primaries conducted by the party in Lokoja. Badaru who led the electoral panel that conducted the process, announced that Mr Babatunde Irukera came second with 109 votes; while Rep.
Hassan Baiwa came third with 44 votes. According to him, Yahaya Audu, the younger brother of former Governor Abubakar Audu scored 10 votes; Sani Abdullahi polled seven votes, and Abubakar Bashir got three votes. Gov. Badaru also said that Mrs Blessing Ekele, Mrs Hadiza Ibrahim, Mr Yakubu Mohammed and Mr Danlami Mohammed scored zero votes. Having emerged flag bearer of the ruling APC, the major contest in the November 16 governorship election in Kogi would arguably be between Bello and whoever emerges candidate of the main opposition PDP.
Already, the PDP has cleared all its 13 governorship aspirants to participate in the party’s primary election scheduled for September 3. The aspirants were last week screened by a Screening Committee headed by the Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, at the PDP presidential campaign office in Maitama, popularly called the Legacy House. According to the list, the aspirants cleared in Kogi State include former governor Idris Wada, Senator Dino Melaye, Erico Ameh, Aminu Suleiman, Grace Adejoh, Abubakar Ibrahim, Kabiru Haruna, Musa Wada, Saliu Atawodi (retd), Mohammed Adah, Victor Adoji, Bayo Averehi, and Emmanuel Omebije.
The permutation is that the PDP will likely pick its flag bearer from Kogi East Senatorial District (Igalaland) which has the largest voting population in the state. Bello, who is of the minority from Kogi Central Senatorial District, might be facing a fierce contest and no doubt, needs to work harder to emerge victorious at the poll.
The majority Igala, who lost the grip of power in the state after many years of political dominance following the sudden death of Prince Abubakar Audu who was already coasting home to victory in the November 2015 governorship election, are said to be doing all they can to retake power. Pundits are of the view that as far as the current political equation in the state is concerned, Kogi East (Igala) appeared to have lost out because, the governorship position is currently in Central (Ebiraland); the Speakership is in Kogi West (Okunland) while the ministerial position is equally in Kogi West. The deputy governorship position which is currently the lot of Kogi East (Igalaland) had been largely redundant on the account of the impasse between deputy Governor Simon Achuba and the governor.
It will however not be a tea party to wrestle power from Bello who will be leveraging on the power of incumbency, federal might, financial muscle, retinue of political appointees, support groups, state/National Assembly lawmakers and other political stakeholders who would be working to brighten his chances. Besides, Bello appeared to have made great inroads into Igalaland through the influence of his Chief of Staff, Edward Onoja coupled with the goodwill he enjoys from the traditional institution in Igalaland, especially from the Attah Igala.
The outcome of the last election in which the APC won the presidential election, clinched seven of the nine House of Reps seats, two of the three senate seats and won all the 25 state assembly seats, may have given some ray of hope to the governor. But that notwithstanding, his leadership style and overall performance in terms of providing the needed socio-economic and infrastructure development during his first term would go a long way in determining his chances.
As it stands, Governor Bello is most likely to slug it out with any of the following aspirants that would emerge the PDP’s flag bearer at the end of the day. Idris Wada Idris Ichala Wada was the immediate past governor of Kogi State. In the last 2015 election, as the then incumbent governor under the PDP, he was defeated by the late Abubakar Audu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Wada, a retired pilot, was elected as the 3rd Governor of Kogi State in 2011. He comes from Dekina Local Government of the eastern part of the state. Wada is not a stranger to the political terrain of the state having contested in the last election where he polled over 199,000 votes. The former governor is said to be having a great chances of picking the party’s ticket.
One of his odds ahead of the primary is the fact that his own younger brother, Engr Musa Wada is equally in the contest with him. Besides, the fact that about 11 other aspirants in the race are from Kogi East, implies that the votes by delegates would likely split. If elected, Mr. Wada, a major contender will complete just one term as governor of Kogi State. Dino Melaye Senator Dino Melaye is a member of the 9th National Assembly, representing Kogi West in the Senate and hails from Ijumu LGA of the state. Before now, he was a member of the House of Representatives who represented Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency. He is also seen as one of the major contenders for the race.
One of factors that favours Dino Melaye in picking the party’s flag is the fact that he is the only aspirant from Kogi West senatorial District and if all things being equal, he could garner overwhelming votes of delegates from the zone in addition to votes he would get from Kogi Central and East districts.
Abubakar Ibrahim Abubakar Ibrahim is the son of a former governor of the state, Ibrahim Idris (Ibro) and hails from Omala LGA of the state. His father was first elected governor in 2003 and served for two terms. Pundits believe that Abubakar also has a bright chances of flying the party’s flag given the strong influence of his father as the leader of PDP in the state. However, one major odd against his choice is the insinuations that he was in the race to enable his father build a political dynasty for his family.
Joseph Ameh Joseph Ameh Erico is also one of the frontline aspirants for the PDP ticket in Kogi State. He is a security expert who formed a private security firm, Real Strikers Security Services. He comes from Olamaboro local government of the state. Grace Adejoh Grace Adejoh is the only female aspirant under the platform of the PDP. She is from Ayingba, Dekina local government area of Kogi State. In 2007, she contested for the House of Assembly primaries under the PDP. In 2012, she served as Executive Assistant to the then Nigerian High Commissioner to Singapore.
Musa Wada Musa Wada is a younger brother to Idris Wada, the immediate past governor of the state who is also contesting for the PDP ticket. The duo, under the PDP platform, are from Dekina Local Government Area.
Saliu Atawodi A retired Air Marshal, he is also a former Chairman, Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMSS). He was born on the July 4, 1952 in Idah Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Victor Adoji Victor Alewo Adoji was a banker who served as brand management executive with Zenith Bank. He contested for the Kogi East Senatorial District in the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly under the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) during the 2019 general elections. He is from Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Aminu Suleiman Aminu Suleiman is a 44-year-old quantity surveyor. He is from the eastern part of the state which is mostly dominated by the Igala tribe.
***Emmanuel Omebije*** Mr Omebije is a former two-term member of the Kogi State House of Assembly who served as Deputy Speaker. He is from Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State. Mohammed Adah Mohammed Adah Shuaibu, popularly known as ‘Tettes’ is a business strategist and entrepreneur. He is Igala by tribe, from Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Bayo Averehi Bayo Adobayin Averehi is a kinsman of the incumbent governor, Yahaya Bello. He is also from Okene Local Government Area. His tribe is Ebira, the second largest ethnic group in the state, after Igala. Kabir Haruna Kabir Haruna, popularly known as Saraha is an estate developer based in the Federal Capital TerritoryHe is the CEO of Saraha Estate Developers based in Abuja. He is from the Igala speaking part of Kogi State. As it stands, the power to decide who becomes the party’s flag bearer that would face Governor Yahaya Bello in the November 16th governorship election lies in the hands of delegates.
Credit: Dailytrust