Information reaching us as constituted Elders of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), in Kogi State, is to the effect that the zonal leadership of the party, made up of chairmen of the seven local government areas in Kogi West are en route Abuja, the federal capital. Their purported plan is to rehash a failed “vote of no confidence” against the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial Zone, Sunday Steve Karimi, within the precincts of the national assembly. They will thereafter perform their dance of shame at the headquarters of the APC in Abuja. Let it be known that they are jesters who should not be taken seriously. Their sponsored charade is totally at variance with the reality of the infectious respect and admiration which Karimi enjoys on the home front. This exercise in futility is another dimension of the needless fiscal wastage in Kogi State and indeed an extension of the systematic weakening of the APC in Kogi West and indeed the state at large which must be worrying to genuine stakeholders.
Elders of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), in Kogi State wish to draw the attention of President Bola Tinubu, GCFR and the National Chairman of the party, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, to divisive schemes within the followership of the APC across the state which may negatively impact the fortunes of the party in the forthcoming general elections. We are concerned because we have evolved with the party beginning from its earliest days as Action Congress, (AC), through its gestation as Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN), before its merger with other parties to become the APC. The Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, is reportedly championing divisions and disaffection with the ranks and leadership of the party, by setting party members and leaders against one another. This is very ominous for a party going to the general polls just about eight months down the line.
It was most confounding to us all, that at the alleged instigation of Governor Ododo, chairmen of the APC in Kabba-Bunu council area for instance, congregated March 12, 2026, to pass a so-called “vote of no confidence” in the Senator representing the district, Sunday Steve Karimi. This ran against the visible and discernible record of performance of the said legislator who has demonstrably impacted his constituents. They were promptly countered by rebuttals and affirmation of confidence in the representational endeavours of Senator Karimi, by the party leadership and groups across the senatorial sphere. It was alleged that the arrowhead of that scam, is a certain Bode Adeyemi, who is said to be an adviser to Ododo.
As Elders, may we warn that the APC in leadership which is being administered from Government House, Lokoja, is treading the path of perdition with its style. The recent party congresses conducted in the state were done to the total exclusion of critical stakeholders of the party. Names were simply written up without the input of major pillars and structures of the party, an act which has generated mass grumbling and unease within the party.
The silence from the nine local government areas in Kogi East is loud and dangerous. There are talks of total disconnect from goings-on in the party in the state, which has bred pervasive disenchantment and disillusionment. Except from the over-pampered Okene local government area in Kogi Central which has the chunk of influential state officials, there is widespread disillusionment in the other local government areas which feel a total sense of alienation and exclusion from the APC system in Kogi State.
We must not take for granted, movements and realignments in the political space, as political actors search for platforms to actualise their political aspirations. While it may be assumed that the major opposition parties are troubled, party members, aspirants and leaders will seek accommodation wherever they will be heard, recognised and respected.
Signed:
- Dr Hezekiah Ikusemoro (Kogi West)
- Alhaji Adaviriku Omeiza (Kogi Central)
- Barrister David Ameh (Kogi East)
For: Kogi State APC Elders Assembly
