By Musa Tanimu Nasidi
Recently, we paid a visit to our leader and former Deputy Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 Kogi State governorship election, His Excellency, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke.
The visit was not merely social. It was a political engagement with three clear objectives: to congratulate Faleke on his appointment as Deputy Campaign Director of the Tinubu Campaign Organisation; to appreciate him for facilitating the appointment of Kogi West indigenes into positions of responsibility; and, importantly, to present the case for the Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency.
But shortly after the visit, I came across a comment on Facebook questioning the loyalty of those who visited Faleke to the APC.
I paused.
Which APC was the writer referring to?
Was it the APC that emerged from the historic merger of political tendencies that eventually produced the party that Prince Abubakar Audu and James Faleke campaigned for in the 2015 Kogi governorship election?
Or is loyalty now being defined by proximity to those presently occupying government offices?
These are questions that deserve honest answers.
The APC and its legacy
The history of the APC in Kogi State cannot conveniently be rewritten to suit today’s political circumstances.
Many of those who were at the centre of the party’s formation and early political struggles have remained committed to the party despite changes in political fortunes, leadership and government.
Faleke is one of those politicians whose political history is inseparable from the development of the APC, particularly in Kogi State.
His political journey alongside the late Prince Abubakar Audu during the 2015 governorship election remains an important chapter in the state’s political history. The Audu/Faleke ticket represented a political platform that attracted thousands of supporters across the state.
The sudden death of Prince Audu after the election created an extraordinary constitutional and political situation. The subsequent events eventually produced a judicial outcome that placed the governorship in the hands of Alhaji Yahaya Bello rather than Faleke.
That episode remains one of the most debated moments in Kogi’s recent political history.
For many supporters of the Audu/Faleke political family, the events surrounding that transition have never been forgotten.
The people who stayed
There is another issue that needs to be addressed.
Some of those who today loudly describe themselves as the authentic APC loyalists were not necessarily part of the party’s original political struggle in Kogi. Some joined later, while others moved into the APC after the death of Prince Abubakar Audu and the political realignment that followed.
That is not necessarily a crime. Politics is dynamic, and people are free to move between political parties.
But what should not be acceptable is the attempt to rewrite history and portray those who participated in the early struggles of the APC as strangers to the party.
Loyalty is not established by the volume of one’s political rhetoric. It is tested by history, sacrifice and consistency.
Faleke’s contribution
Faleke’s contribution to the APC goes beyond one election.
He has remained a visible participant in the party’s political activities and has continued to maintain relationships with party members across different parts of Kogi and beyond.
His national political relevance has also continued to grow.
His appointment as Deputy Campaign Director of the Tinubu Campaign Organisation is another indication of the confidence placed in him within the wider political structure.
For his supporters in Kogi, therefore, visiting him to congratulate him should not be interpreted as an act of disloyalty to APC.
Rather, it can be viewed as an engagement with a senior party figure whose political history and contribution to the party cannot simply be erased.
The 2015 question that refuses to disappear
The 2015 Kogi governorship election and its aftermath continue to occupy an important place in the state’s political discourse.
Following the death of Prince Abubakar Audu after the election, Faleke’s political camp maintained that he had a legitimate claim to the mandate. The matter went through the judicial process, and the courts ultimately did not install him as governor.
Whatever one’s interpretation of that episode, the fact remains that Faleke became a central figure in one of the most consequential political and legal controversies in Kogi’s democratic history.
Today, however, the political conversation has changed.
Across the state, there are voices urging Faleke to consider contesting the 2027 governorship election.
Whether he will accept that invitation remains entirely his decision.
But the growing calls are significant because they suggest that a section of Kogites still sees in him a political alternative and a continuation of the political tradition associated with the Audu/Faleke era.
When party loyalty becomes a weapon
More troubling is the increasing tendency to weaponise the word “loyalty” against fellow party members.
In a democratic political party, attending a town hall meeting organized by a party’s recognized Kogi West Senatorial candidate should ordinarily not constitute an offence.
Yet there have been controversies surrounding the suspension of some APC members and officials following their participation in political activities associated with Senator Sunday Steve Karimi, the party’s Kogi west Senatorial flagbearer.
The allegation from those affected is that their offence was essentially attending an APC town hall meeting.
If that allegation is correct, it raises a fundamental question:
Can attending an APC event organised by the party’s own candidate amount to anti-party activity?
Anti-party activity is a serious political allegation. It should not become a convenient label for suppressing internal disagreement, competing political interests or legitimate engagement among party members.
If party members cannot meet with, interact with or support their party’s flagbearer without fear of suspension, then the party risks weakening the very structures it needs to win elections.
Who determines who is loyal?
The APC cannot afford a situation where loyalty is determined by a few individuals.
Party loyalty should be measured by the constitution of the party, recognised party structures, participation in legitimate party activities and commitment to the party’s electoral objectives.
It should not be determined by whether a member agrees with every decision of a particular political leader.
Democracy necessarily accommodates disagreement.
The real danger begins when disagreement is interpreted as betrayal and political competition is presented as anti-party activity.
A strong political party should be able to accommodate different tendencies while maintaining discipline and unity.
The Kogi APC before 2027
The 2027 election is already shaping political calculations across Kogi State.
The APC will need unity, but unity cannot be achieved through intimidation, suspension or the constant branding of fellow party members as disloyal.
The party must also recognise that political history matters.
Those who built the party, those who contested elections under its platform, those who worked for its candidates and those who remained with it through difficult periods deserve recognition.
At the same time, those who joined later and contributed to the party’s growth should also be respected.
There should be room for everyone.
The ultimate objective should be to strengthen the APC rather than create factions of “original loyalists” and “new loyalists.”
Faleke and the road to 2027
The calls on Faleke to contest the 2027 governorship election may become louder in the coming months.
Whether he throws his hat into the ring or chooses another political path, one thing is certain: his political relevance in Kogi has not disappeared.
His supporters see him as a symbol of a political journey that began with the Audu/Faleke ticket and survived the turbulence that followed the 2015 election.
For those who visited him recently, the message was simple: congratulations, appreciation and advocacy.
It was not a declaration of war against the APC.
Indeed, if anything, it was a reminder that the APC is bigger than any individual, faction or temporary political arrangement.
Those who genuinely want the party to succeed in 2027 should therefore be more interested in reconciliation than recrimination; more interested in mobilisation than suspension; and more interested in expanding the party’s support base than deciding who has the exclusive right to call himself a loyalist.
The Kogi APC did not become a major political force because of one man.
It was built by many people.
And if it must remain relevant beyond 2027, it must continue to belong to all those who believe in its future—not merely to those who currently hold political power.
– Musa Tanimu Nasidi writes from Lokoja.
