By Ahmed Dinar Abdulmumuni
As the 2027 Kogi Central Senatorial election gradually takes shape, the political contest between former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello and the incumbent Senator, Natasha Hadiza Akpoti-Uduaghan, is already attracting considerable attention.
For the people of Kogi Central, however, the central question should not simply be who has the biggest political structure, the loudest supporters or the strongest party machinery. The more important question should be: Who has demonstrated the greatest commitment to the people of Kogi Central, both before and after occupying public office?
On that basis, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan enters the 2027 contest with a record that deserves serious examination.
Yahaya Bello and the Question of Political Consistency:
The proposed 2027 contest becomes even more interesting when the political history of Yahaya Bello is placed beside his present ambition.
In 2015, during the APC governorship primaries in Kogi State, Yahaya Bello petitioned the party’s appeal committee seeking the disqualification of Prince Abubakar Audu and asking that he himself be recognised as the authentic APC candidate.
One of the principal arguments attributed to Bello was that Audu was facing an EFCC prosecution involving approximately ₦10.9 billion allegedly belonging to the Kogi State Government. Bello’s petition argued that the pending corruption case should prevent Audu from obtaining the party’s ticket and cited party rules and Nigerian law in support of his position.
Yahaya Bello is himself currently facing an EFCC prosecution involving an alleged ₦110.4 billion in criminal breach of trust and money laundering. In June 2026, the Federal Capital Territory High Court dismissed his application challenging the court’s jurisdiction and allowed the case to proceed. Bello has denied wrongdoing and is entitled to the presumption of innocence until the court determines the matter.
The comparison therefore deserves public discussion—not because a pending case automatically determines a person’s guilt, but because the same standard of political accountability should apply consistently to everyone.
If, in 2015, a pending EFCC case against a political aspirant was considered serious enough by Bello to justify demanding that the APC disqualify that aspirant, Nigerians are entitled to ask why a pending EFCC prosecution should be treated differently when the political aspirant is Bello himself.
The answer, ultimately, should come from the law and from the APC itself.
Natasha is the first elected female senator from Kogi State. Her political journey did not begin with her election to the Senate in 2023. Long before she became a senator, she was involved in advocacy, humanitarian activities, youth and women empowerment, and efforts to promote the revival of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex and other economic opportunities in Kogi Central. Reports have documented her philanthropic and empowerment activities in the constituency before she entered full-time partisan politics.
That background is important because it suggests that her relationship with the people did not begin when she acquired a government position. Her supporters argue that public service, empowerment and community development were already part of her activities before she entered the National Assembly.
Since becoming senator, Natasha has embarked on a number of constituency projects covering education, roads, water, electricity, security, healthcare and economic empowerment.
Among the projects publicly reported are the reconstruction and remodelling of Abdul Aziz Attah Memorial College in Okene, involving nine classroom blocks and four boarding houses, alongside the deployment of 5,000 digital learning devices to public primary and secondary schools across Kogi Central. She also facilitated the reconstruction of the Ihima Police Station and commissioned a one-kilometre road network within Abdul Aziz Attah Memorial College.
Her office has also reported 12 solar-powered water projects, including large 50,000-litre systems connected to hundreds of access points. It has further reported the lighting of approximately 30 kilometres of road networks across Kogi Central with solar-powered streetlights.
Her empowerment programmes have similarly focused on women, young people and artisans. One published account reported that more than 1,300 artisans had been trained and empowered, while hundreds of vulnerable indigenous students received support for tertiary education.
Other initiatives have included business registration support for small businesses, vocational training and the provision of equipment intended to help beneficiaries create sustainable livelihoods.
Whether every project should be credited solely to a senator is a legitimate question in evaluating constituency representation, but the existence and scope of these interventions provide voters with tangible issues on which to assess performance.
The 2019 Election and the Violence That Followed:
Natasha’s political journey has also been marked by controversy and confrontation.
During the 2019 Kogi governorship election period, when she contested under the Social Democratic Party, she alleged that she was attacked and harassed by people she described as APC thugs at an INEC-organised political stakeholders’ meeting. The APC rejected her allegation and offered a different account of the incident.
The 2019 election itself was also surrounded by allegations of violence and intimidation. Natasha later called for the cancellation of the Kogi Central election, alleging that her party’s agents had been chased away from polling units and, in some cases, tied with ropes.
Whatever political interpretation one chooses to place on those events, they became part of Natasha’s political story: a story of a politician who has repeatedly presented herself as willing to confront powerful interests rather than retreat from political competition.
The Senate Suspension Did Not End Her Relationship With Her Constituents:
In March 2025, the Senate suspended Natasha for six months over alleged breaches of Senate rules. The suspension meant that she lost access to her Senate office, security and other privileges associated with her legislative position during the period.
Yet the suspension did not end her political activities or her engagement with constituents.
Her supporters point to the continuation of constituency projects and empowerment initiatives during that period as evidence that her commitment to Kogi Central was not dependent entirely on sitting inside the Senate chamber.
This is an important point in the 2027 debate. A representative should ultimately be judged by the connection between political office and the people not merely by attendance at political meetings or possession of party structures.
The Recall Attempt:
Perhaps one of the clearest tests of Natasha’s popularity came during the 2025 attempt to recall her from the Senate.
A recall petition was submitted against her after her suspension. The petitioners claimed to have obtained signatures from more than half of registered voters in Kogi Central.
But when the Independent National Electoral Commission examined the submitted signatures and thumbprints, it found that 208,132 were verified, representing 43.86 percent of registered voters. The constitutional threshold required at least 237,278 signatures.
The petition therefore fell short by 29,146 signatures, and INEC announced that no further action would be taken on the recall.
This fact should not be exaggerated into a claim that every person in Ebira land supports Natasha. That would be impossible to establish from the recall figures alone.
But politically, the failed recall became significant because it demonstrated that the attempt did not satisfy the constitutional threshold required to remove her through the recall process.
For her supporters, it reinforced their belief that a substantial section of Kogi Central still identifies with her representation.
2027 Should Be About Performance, Not Just Political Powers:
Yahaya Bello has every constitutional and political right to seek elective office, subject to the law and the rules of his political party. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan also has the right to seek another term if she chooses to do so.
But elections are ultimately contests for the confidence of the people.
The people of Kogi Central should therefore ask simple questions.
Who has built a stronger relationship with the people?
Who has demonstrated measurable commitment to education?
Who has empowered young people, women and artisans?
Who has invested in water, roads, lighting and community infrastructure?
Who has remained connected with constituents during political adversity?
Who has demonstrated consistency in the principles of accountability and eligibility that they demand from others?
These are questions that should be answered with evidence rather than propaganda.
Senator Natasha’s Greatest Advantage Maybe Be Her Record:
The argument for Natasha in 2027 should not be that she has no weaknesses or that every criticism against her is automatically false. No public official is beyond scrutiny.
Rather, her strongest argument is that voters can compare her record with the alternatives.
Five local government areas make up Kogi Central Senatorial District—Adavi, Ajaokuta, Okehi, Okene and Ogori/Magongo. The people across these communities have the opportunity to examine what has been delivered, what remains unfinished and what they want from their next senator.
If the people believe that the projects, empowerment programmes and representation delivered under Natasha deserve continuation, they have the democratic right to renew her mandate.
And if they believe another candidate can do better, they also have the right to make that choice.That is democracy.
The Real Contest In 2027:
The 2027 contest should therefore not be reduced to Yahaya Bello versus Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
It should be about record versus promise, accountability versus political rhetoric, and service versus ambition.
Bello comes into the contest as a former governor with considerable political experience and influence. Natasha comes into it as an incumbent senator whose supporters can point to a growing list of constituency interventions.
The question before Kogi Central is simple:
Who Deserves Another Four Years Of The People’s Trust
For those who support Natasha, the answer is already clear. They see a woman who fought her way into the Senate, survived electoral and political battles, endured suspension, faced an attempted recall, and continued to associate herself with projects and empowerment programmes in her constituency.
For them, Natasha does not need a rival merely because politics demands competition. She needs to be challenged only if another candidate can present a stronger record, a clearer vision and a more convincing commitment to the people.
The 2027 election will ultimately belong to the voters.
And when the people of Kogi Central enter the polling booth, the most powerful campaign message may not be a billboard, a rally or a political endorsement.
It may simply be the question:
“What have you done for us, and what can you still do?”
That is the standard by which every candidate including Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and Yahaya Bello should be judged.
– Ahmed Dinar Abdulmumin
ahmedabdulmumuni100a@gmail.com
