A group, Ward B Project, in Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State, has enjoined the state government to give more attention to the ward in view of the pivotal role it has long been playing in the political scene.
The National Coordinator of the body, Hon Abdul Abdulsamad, who made the call at a news conference held at the Conference Hall of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Lokoja, described Ward B as the most marginalized Political District in the Local Government.
Hon Abdulsamad, who stressed the need for other political Wards in Lokoja to back candidates from the Ward for political offices in the coming electioneering dispensation in the state, said the people of the Ward deserve it in view of the support they have given to others who have sought it over the years.
The national coordinator, who decried lack of unity among politicians from the area, said it was only through unanimity and eschewing of rancor and acrimony that the objectives of the body would be achieved.
He stressed: Ward B Project is a non-political or religious organization. As the name implies, we are not advocating for any political party or candidate, but are out to advocate that what is politically for Ward B should go to it because it has been backing people from other parts of Lokoja for elective and appointive positions.
Other Wards from A to E have had had their opportunities to serve the state and the local Government in various capacities and Ward B has supported them, so, why cant they give the same support to Ward B? he asked rhetorically.
Hon Abdulsamad stated that the district harbors some of the best brains in Lokoja Local Government in all areas of human endeavour, stressing that whatever criteria is used to judge potential office holder, the ward meets all.
According to him, the ward has gone through too many challenges because of absence of organized political forces that would serve as rallying points in the past, and said that it is time for them to speak in one voice.
He praised the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, for the way he has led the state so far, especially the ongoing civil servants verification exercise, describing as a step in the right direction and called on the people to give him the support he needs to move the state forward.
The coordinator said the current wage bill of the state, if compared with the resources at government disposal, it negates logic, saying that it is only where government is able to root out ghosts in its wage bill that it can save enough to be able to carry out meaningful programmes that would uplift the standard of the average Kogian.
He also praised the current working relationship between the executive and the legislature in the state, saying that the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Umar Ahmed Imam, has shown that an average Lokoja person can be depended upon politically.
Hon Abdulsamad therefore called on the speaker to add his voice to the ongoing agitation by the people of ward B in the quest for political relevant, which is well deserved.
