Within the last 24 hours into the wee hours of this morning, some unprofessional and politically sponsored SARs Police officers from Abuja forcefully made into the home of the young and vibrant emerging political gladiator of Kogi East who by party responsibility doubles as All Progressives Congress, APC, Zonal Vice Chairman, Kogi East, Hon. Ahmed Attah; ransacking his Lokoja home at Ganaja village, destroying his furniture in the wake, searching for non-existent items conjured in the imagination of those who sent them for the unprofessionally skilled hatchet job that has dragged and pegged the name of the force as “politicians hand bags”.
Whilst this was ongoing, purveyors of fake news who have been contracted for the job shared fake information on several social media platforms on the arrest of the young politician, just like they manufactured the purported arrest of the Kogi State Chief of Staff to the Governor by the DSS, Hon. Edward Onoja, during the Democracy Day celebration which was also a lie, bringing the falsehood merchants to having a PHD in lying and witchcraft.
Whilst this search was going on, the APC Zonal Vice chairman who is under concurrent death threats to his life, however, unwavering in his resolve, was at Abuja where the convergence of APC North Central stakeholders cross-examined the performance of the entire region in the last elections, highlighting the sterling performance of the Kogi State anchor-lead for the APC in the state for the last elections, Governor Yahaya Bello, whom the stakeholders after the meeting tagged his performance as “outstanding”, delivering the state for the APC: Presidential elections, winner; two (2) Senatorial seats out of three (3), seven (7) House of Representatives seats out of nine (9), and twenty five (25) State Assembly seats which is a 100% knock off of other party representatives in the state house of assembly.
Forthwith, the North Central stakeholders has given a clear directive of consolidation, banking on the track record of Governor Yahaya Bello in the last general elections, instructing all party faithful and stakeholders within the state and region to join the consolidation train in building a stronger party. Encomiums were also rained on the former party Chairman, Hon. Haddy Ametou who recently withdrew his case from the courts, joining hands with the Governor to build the party which he was the first chairman in the state.
In another twist, the intimidation and harassment of APC stakeholders in Dekina Local Government Area is taking clandestine dimension as the Special Adviser on Project Monitoring to Governor Yahaya Bello, Hon. Usman Ochidi (Powerful) was also harassed in his Abocho home town, along with party ward chairmen and other chieftains within the region.
Security reports shows a connection between the Governorship Declaration of retired former Naval Officer, Usman Jibrin who is above 70 years of real age, refusing to leave power for vibrant youths with creative energies even after spending many decades in public service, still, on the platform of the APC.
Is it not a somersault of logic if the same party stakeholders on which he intends to use their platform are the ones being harassed, intimidated and threatened? These actions shows ulterior motives of destabilizing the party before going to his original home- ADC- with which coordinators have been drawn from across the state.
To prove this assertion, two of the Coordinators for his campaign, (1) Hassan Omale, his Kogi East Coordinator was the flag-bearer of the ADC for his House of Representatives ambition in the last election. (2) Kassim Mabo ran under the ADC in his failed attempt to represent Lokoja/Koto Federal Constituency and he is his Kogi West Coordinator. Raphael Ekpa, one of his Local Government Coordinators also ran under the ADC for the State House of Assembly elections in March using the ADC. Does this not reveal the leopard’s skin even before it changes color?
We are advising as stakeholders of the party, instead of the blatant disregard for the party echelon in the state, the intimidation of Dekina APC stalwarts and others, those sponsoring the failed agenda of ethnic bigotism and backwardness along with a ferocious war against the youths should locate the following group of persons who can vote in an Indirect Election process according to the APC constitution:
i. Members of Board of Trustees of the APC in the State.
ii. The State Chairman as well as members of the APC State Executive Committee.
iii. The incumbent State Governor and Deputy Governor who are members of the Party.
iv. Current and past members of the National Assembly who are registered members of the Party from the State.
v. The list also includes all members of the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) from the State.
vi. Serving and past members of the Kogi State House of Assembly who are legitimate members of the APC.
vii. All elected Local Government Areas and Area Councils Chairmen as their Deputies who are members of the Party.
viii. Viable members of the APC who are elected Councillors of Local Government Areas and Area Councils.
ix. Various Local Government Chairmen and Secretaries of the APC in the State as well as Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
x. A group of five delegates per ward one of which at least, shall be a woman. The delegates previously elected from the Ward Congresses shall however cease to function after the conclusion of the State Congress.
xi. All Party members from the State Zonal Executive Committee (ZEC) of the APC.
Summarily, in tandem with the all-inclusive policies of the APC, all Political Office Holders; if not elected, may however attend the Congress strictly as Observers.
The underlisted are visible humans which can be found in various wards and polling units of the state, except for strangers who are saboteurs and power hungry, threatening party faithful and executives for quest of intimidation and suppression of the party people and their will. We shall not take to violence, neither shall we retaliate unless through lawful redress as this has clearly shown the difference between those seeking power and those seeking to build a prosperous Kogi State.
– Usman Ojodale M.
For: Concerned Kogi East APC Stakeholders
