Tensions over the 2027 Kogi State governorship election escalated on Wednesday as a political socio-cultural group, ‘De Group’, strongly rejected calls by a coalition of Kogi Local Government Area stakeholders urging the Kogi West Senatorial District to wait until 2031 before contesting for the state’s top political office.
In a press statement jointly signed by Hon. Shaba Ibrahim, Alhaji Bala Haruna, Alhaji Sulaiman Muhammed Baba, Alhaji Hamisu Nayashi, and Colonel Ndamadu Mohammed (rtd), the advocacy body described the stakeholders’ stance as an attempt to mortgage the constitutional rights of the people of Kogi West for personal political gains.
The group was responding to a recent press conference addressed by a political faction in Koton-Karfe led by Senator Ado Shuaibu, which declared that Kogi West should yield its governorship ambition in deferment to the second-term tenure of the incumbent Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo.
Countering the call, De Group declared that the stakeholders do not speak for the eleven political wards of Kogi LGA, characterizing their position as self-serving and disconnected from the political realities of the senatorial district.
The statement queried why political actors from Kogi LGA did not raise issues of equity or fairness during previous administrations, pointing out that former Governors Late Prince Abubakar Audu, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, and Capt. Idris Ichalla Wada all hailed from Kogi East and served or sought second terms without being asked to step aside for other zones.
De Group argued that after thirty-four years of political loyalty, patience, and massive voting support for leaders from the East and Central senatorial districts, Kogi West has every constitutional and moral right to field a gubernatorial candidate in the upcoming 2027 election.
Addressing infrastructural development across the state, the group expressed strong dissatisfaction with the distribution of state projects under the current and previous administrations. They alleged that the Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency has suffered neglect, citing poor road conditions, epileptic public water supply, and unfinished projects as evidence of uneven development across the state’s political zones.
While reaffirming their unwavering support for the federal administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his developmental agenda, the group emphasized that their position on the Kogi governorship remains non-negotiable.
De Group maintained that no individual or self-appointed coalition possesses the authority to suspend the constitutional rights of the people of Kogi West, adding that the district will continue to mobilize, organize, and present a formidable contender for Lugard House come 2027.
“Kogi West will not wait. Kogi West will contest. Kogi West will organize. Kogi West will take Lugard House in 2027,” the group said.
