Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo on Thursday called on residents to repay President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s support for the state with overwhelming loyalty and votes. He said the Renewed Hope administration had shown uncommon commitment to Kogi’s development.
Ododo spoke at Government House in Lokoja while receiving Team Yomikola, a political structure led by former Kogi Assembly Speaker Matthew Kolawole. He commended the group for its loyalty, sacrifice and commitment to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“We are not ungrateful people,” Ododo told the gathering. He urged supporters to show appreciation by voting for Tinubu and the APC “100 per cent” so the president can build on his achievements.
The governor said Kogi residents should recognise the president’s interventions rather than let partisan politics and misinformation obscure them. He linked the resources his administration is using on projects to support from the Federal Government. He said Tinubu’s policies had improved the financial capacity of sub-national governments and enabled governors to fund projects that would otherwise have been difficult to finance.
Ododo singled out the ongoing reconstruction of the Abaji-Koton Karfe-Lokoja-Benin Expressway as one of the administration’s most significant infrastructure interventions in the state. He said the road had been abandoned for years despite its strategic value, and that Tinubu had shown the political will to revive it because of its importance to national connectivity and economic development.
The governor also credited the president with personal backing in the fight against insecurity. He said federal security chiefs responded quickly whenever he asked for help. “Anytime I had issues, I called him, he called them, and immediately,” Ododo said. He attributed the relative peace in Kogi to his administration’s efforts combined with federal support.
Ododo urged members of Team Yomikola to remain united and not let politicians turn them against one another. He said the APC’s strength in Kogi lay in its ability to accommodate divergent interests while pursuing the common good. He described Kolawole as a critical stakeholder in his administration and praised his commitment to peace, loyalty and the development of his people.
Kolawole said his decision to step down from the political contest in the party’s interest was driven by loyalty, peace and the wider interest of the constituency. He said the more than 400 people at the meeting were only a fraction of the Yomikola structure, which is spread across polling units in the Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency. He assured the governor that any directive he gave would be passed to the grassroots.
The former speaker announced a series of programmes to mobilise support for Tinubu and Ododo. They include engagements with traditional rulers and elites, a Kogi Summit, town-hall meetings, street sensitisation and empowerment programmes across the constituency. He also asked the governor to consider more members of the group for appointments, saying many had stayed committed to the APC since its formative years.
Zacchaeus Dare Michael, executive chairman of Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area, praised both men and described Kolawole as a political mentor whose influence had produced several grassroots actors. He urged the governor to keep strengthening ties with the structure, saying its members had the capacity to mobilise support for the APC.
Adam Kamaldeen Toyin, an APC stakeholder from Ijumu Local Government, said the turnout showed the depth of the Yomikola structure. He promised that the message from Government House would reach the remotest communities of Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu. He expressed confidence that the group would work to secure Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 and the continuation of Ododo’s administration through 2031.
