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The people of Yagba Federal constituency under the aegis of the ‘Integrity Mandate’ has condemned the political manipulation of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state to foist Senator Smart Adeyemi as the senatorial candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Kogi West Senatorial District in the forthcoming primary election.
Similarly, it has rejected the manipulation that is presently going on in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to select Senator Dino Melaiye as their candidate in the primary election.
According to the statement signed by its Director of Media, Mallam Isah Hassan, the group alleged that both senators have robbed Yagba people of quality representation in the Senate.
The group said it has galvanised the opinion of Yagba voters and critical stakeholders and come to the conclusion that the West senatorial will only vote for a Yagba person at the general election having ceded its rights to Ijumu in the last dispensation.
“It is the turn of Yagba, going by the zoning arrangement and any candidate from any anywhere else will be routinly defeated in the general election”.
The group, claiming to have sensitized the people of Lokoja and Kogi/KotonKarfe local governments, affirmed that the popular candidate in the senatorial district is neither Senator Smart Adeyemi nor Dino, both of whom are from Ijumu axis.
“The people of Yagba will be robbed in broad daylight should the Senate seat move again out of the Yagba federal constituency this time around. The APC in particular will be tottering on the brink with the imposition of Smart Adeyemi and it is a recipe that may set the party on the path of political perdition.
“The Kogi West Senatorial District comprises of seven local government areas; Koton Karfi, Lokoja, Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu, Mopa-amuro, Yagba East and Yagba West. There has always been a consensus and ‘gentleman agreement’ on power sharing to avoid rancour and animosity among people of the same political landscape. This agreement was jettisoned by our overambitious Senator Smart in 2015, therefore giving room to agitations that is capable of breeding disunity in our district,” the statement read.
The statement further noted that in 1999, when Nigeria returned to democratic rule, the stakeholder in Kogi west unanimously agreed to present Senator Tunde Ogbeha to represent the district at the National Assembly, a consensual agreement was reached for him to return for a second term, after which he paved way for an eight year reign of Senator Smart Adeyemi.
“Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu that has spent 12 years at the National Assembly instead of 8 years is suddenly angling for another slot. It is interesting to note that Senator Melaye, as a member of the 8th Assembly was not a product of the consensus political arrangement. Rather, his victory at the poll arose as a result of President Buhari’s victory in the presidential elections which prompted a ‘political tsunami’ that eventually shortchanged the people of Yagba land.
“As major stakeholders therefore, the group call on all sons and daughters of the federal constituency to rise in unison to challenge any endorsement of candidates not from the zone, in the interest of fairness and justice.”
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