From Babatunde Rahman, Lokoja
As the November 16 gubernatorial elections hots up in Kogi state, the people of Kogi West are speaking with one voice to demand for the governorship position.
In a release made available to journalists in Lokoja and signed by a frontline analyst, Bala Haruna he underscored the need to allow Kogi West senatorial district produce the next governor of the state in the interest of justice and fair play.
According to him, among the three zones in the state, only the West, which is the second largest ethnic group, has never governed the state.
He opined that Babatunde Irukera, the present Director-General of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), would be the perfect alternative to the ‘faltering’ Governor Yahaya Bello.
He said: “A cosmopolitan, and a technocrat with vast international exposure and connection will be the breath of fresh air that Kogi desperately needs at this trying times. It will be recalled that he contested the 2015 elections but as a faithful and loyal party man, he stepped down at the last minute for Late Abubakar Audu.
“What happened in that election is now history as Audu, the presumed winner passed on before the official declaration of results, while his Kogi West deputy, James Faleke was eventually prevented from ascending the throne based on some alleged lacuna in the electoral act.
“However, not a few people believed that Kogi West was deliberately schemed out by vested interests.
“Compensating Kogi West with the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial ticket now becomes imperative in the interest of justice and fair play.
“Given the level of resentment the people of the Confluence State have for the incumbent and by extension the APC, the party needs to field someone deemed a break from the norm with a record of performance in both public and private sectors, that is where Irukera comes in.”
In a related development, a foremost student leader in the state, Comrade Ajagun Opeyemi Samuel has insisted that it is the time of an Okun man from the Western Senatorial District of Kogi State to become Governor of the State.
Ajagun made this known during National Association of Okun Students (NAOS), University of Abuja chapter.
He noted that the forthcoming governorship election provides perfect time for leaders of various political parties across Okun land to put heads together and synergize on how to get the governorship ticket for an Okun man to become governor of the state.
The student leader said that it is time to let go of the ‘minority mentality’, stressing that with cooperation, synergy and timely strategy an Okun man can become the governor of Kogi State.
Ajagun who criticized the political heavyweights from Kogi West for not realizing the damage they have done for the district by not speaking in one voice asked that the time has come to bury the hatchet and made the Okuns proud.
“Kogi State was created in 1991, almost 28 years now. Since the return of democracy in 1999 our leaders cannot speak in one voice. It is now 28 years of a stupendous marginalization of the people of Kogi West, specifically the Okun speaking people of the district, despite the numbers of influential political juggernauts from the zone. “We are not limited to becoming deputy governor or Speaker of the state, we can also be governor. Just as we are asking our leaders what they were doing when other tribes are becoming governor of the state, one day, our own children will also ask us same question if we don’t get up and do something now,” he said.
