In the countdown to the last general elections, Kogi State was seen as a stronghold of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). With the governor, two serving senators, majority of members of the House of Representatives and state House of Assembly, it was difficult to think that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would defeat the PDP in the state. But that notion changed when the results of March 28 presidential and National Assembly elections were announced.
Those who expected the APC to lose Kogi State may after all not be totally wrong. This is because, before the elections, many factors seemed to work against the party, including the inability of few leaders of the legacy parties which formed the APC to close ranks. As if to prove the bookmakers right, a prominent leader from one of the legacy parties tried to fan the embers of disunity. He went as far as imposing candidates from his side of the divide on the party. This action, however, ended up working against him as his candidates were the only ones who lost in the elections. They were unpopular.
Apparently thinking that other party chieftains would react negatively to the overbearing influences which could lead to implosion, the PDP went to sleep. But the APC was determined to win.
Another factor was the alleged financial dealings between the PDP in the state and a prominent leader of the APC.
One other factor that was expected to help the PDP win the election but which turned out to work in favour of the APC was an unholy alliance of some APC leaders in the state with the administration of Governor Idris Wada.
As a result of this, members of the APC did not trust him.
With the aforementioned, it was expected that the PDP would achieve victory in the polls, but the unexpected happened. Rather than be discouraged by the antics of few leaders, the teeming supporters of the APC found accommodation in the state coordinator for General Buhari’s election, Mr. Ocholi James, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Ocholi, who contested the 2011 governorship race on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), became a rallying point for APC supporters.
The first thing he did was to create 12 committees, headed by credible personalities in the society, many of whom were former senators and ambassadors. Some of the chairmen of the committees include Senator Alex Kadiri, a former chieftain of the PDP, who headed the Contact and Mobilisation Committee; Ambassador Isaac Onu, former member, Kogi State House of Assembly, who also served as special adviser to the former governor, Ibrahim Idris; Nigeria’s ambassador to Botswana, Chief Michael Ozovehe. Others are Samson Atadoja, former majority leader, Kogi State House of Assembly; Chief John Odawn, former PDP state chairman for 9 years, as well as Samson Ihiabe, former member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP. These committees were given a free hand to brainstorm and come out with workable strategies to thwart every move of the PDP. The party almost won majority of the seats in the state House of Assembly. Eventually, most of the party’s candidates who lost the state Assembly poll were from the stronghold of the state leader.
Ocholi and other leaders of the party, though faced with paucity of funds, did not relent as they went on aggressive fund drive from concerned individuals, groups and friendly neighbouring states.
It is important to note that the foundation for the defeat of the PDP in Kogi State was laid long before the elections. The triumph of the APC in Kogi State is therefore viewed by many as a manifestation of the popular saying that “determination is indeed the mother of invention.” All eyes are now on the governorship election in the state when the time comes. Concerned members of the public are watching to see how the party would sustain its hard earned victory. This is even as it is expected that the PDP would not fold its hands and go to sleep.
Ibrahim Adejo lives in Lokoja.
