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RE: Kogi East Senate Race: Aidoko Remains A Desperate Politician, A Misconstrued Parlance
By adminJul 11, 2018, 00:00 am
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In my last response, I made it categorically clear that joining issues that will facilitate a non-party man, gate crasher and opportunist to create crisis may not augur well for the reformed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that is positioned to retain as well as wrest power from the APC led government both at state and federal level. This is because that was the bane of most contestants, including the sponsors of the writer. They forget that the new formidable party was funded, nurtured at its trying period by some notable party men, including Kogi East senator, Atai Aidoko Ali.
It is incontrovertible the position occupied by Kogi East senator, Atai Aidoko Ali in the last 15 years, both at the House of Representatives and now the senate at the red chamber. These credentials as well as his achievements, no doubt, has not gone to the oblivion of the writer and his cohorts.
In the political life of Kogi East senator which spanned for over two and half decades, precisely since 1993, he has lost elections and at the same time won some in his quest to represent the people either at state assembly, lower and the upper chambers of the National Assembly. With all these, he is neither a novice nor a push over by any tall ambitious contender.
During this period under review, a lot of experience was garnered from different stakeholders in the political hemisphere of Kogi East; from the elites to seasoned political elements, diaspora patriots, opinion moulders and influencers. In all, Atai Aidoko Ali had navigated the political turmoil unscathed with the consent of the people of the areas, but that is not were I’m going.
Before I start, it is malicious, mischievous, a blatant misinformation against any lawmaker, not even Senator Aidoko whose primacy is to make laws, amend laws were necessary and provide basic social infrastructures in line with budgetary provisions through constituency projects. To say the least, the same person had no developmental projects to his credit. It is a blackmail taken too far
The 7th Senate constituency projects is evidenced all round Kogi East, from building of clinics and schools to electrification of communities and provision of portable water through motorised and solar powered boreholes as well as opening up of rural roads in the area.
In addition to enhance stewardship to the people, Kogi East senator does not believe in blowing his own trumpet as a lot of Kogi people from the eastern flank have secured juicy employments through the constant issuance of letters of recommendation to federal parastatals and agencies as beneficiaries daily troop into the office to express their gratitude on the unrivaled gesture.
The writer/sponsors believed six bills presented and many motions and contributions was not enough by the senator compared to his colleague from Kogi West, Senator Dino Melaye and has soon forgotten that Kogi East only got a substantive senator representing the area in just about 15 months away out of 36 months spent by the current members of the red chamber, with glaring distraction of shuttle between the courts and the chamber. Yet he deserved to be crucified.
Senator Atai Aidoko Ali’s constituency projects in Kogi East for 2017 of about 36 in numbers in just a year and some months away will be due for commissioning in few months to come. These consists of transformers, motorised and solar powered boreholes, hospital equipment, empowerment equipment like tricycles, motorcycles, fertilizers for farmers and other social safety nets provided for the people of Kogi East.
In spite of court cases against his continuous occupation of the seat, it is a known fact and to discountenance the erroneous believe of the word ‘desperation’ on the part of the senator, Kogi east representative had featured prominently both in party primaries and elections and at the same time lost in some instances/won in so many instances through people’s mandates and the courts, as a runner up under various platforms from DPN,PDP,ANPP,PDP and not a non-contestant as impressed by the misled writer of the piece.
Record has it that some ranking senators and political phenomenon in their various states and constituents have publicly apologised to the people of their various constituencies and Nigerians to forgive them for not living up to expectations in the area of bills and contributions at the floor of the senate, yet there was no hullabaloo about their below par performance.
In political participation and system, there are processes and procedures as the ticket is not automatic in PDP, hence the writer and his paymaster need to tarry and showcase their profile at primaries because even in animal kingdom, there are procedures.
It is too early to bicker over needless issues. PDP as party believes in fair play and democratic norms, time shall tell. But records have shown that Kogi East senator, Atai Aidoko Ali will be a man positioned to beat without retreat or surrender or rather media propaganda.
– Abubakar Yusuf is a media consultant
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