A two-day summit, a communiqué, and a “Charter of Equity and Inclusive Governance” have now been handed to Governor Usman Ododo at Government House, Lokoja. The Kogi Equity Alliance has one question for the Kogi Unity Accord Committee: where is the date?
Equity without a date is a slogan. Kogi West has waited 34 years. We do not need another charter that praises rotation in principle and leaves the timetable to the same political arrangement that has benefited from the delay.
The issue is not whether any senatorial district is more deserving than another. It is whether the principle of equity can command public confidence when its application has no definite timetable. After more than three decades of Kogi State’s existence, the legitimate demand for political inclusion requires more than assurances. It requires a transparent and credible pathway to power.
Consider what has happened. A proposal on the future of the governorship has been delivered to the sitting governor, whose own succession is at the centre of the debate. The public has seen a headline and little else. The summit report, the communiqué, and the 1 October Accord have not been made publicly available. Kogi citizens are being asked to trust a document they have not read, concerning an office they collectively own.
KEA therefore makes the following demands:
- Publish the full Accord, communiqué and summit report. The documents should be made publicly accessible through official government and Committee communication channels so that citizens can examine the recommendations, understand the commitments made and assess whether the principle of equity has been translated into a definite political arrangement.
- State plainly which senatorial district is expected to produce the next governor in 2027. If the Accord is silent on this question, it leaves the central issue of the debate unresolved.
- Reject any 2031 or 2032 formula that postpones Kogi West’s opportunity beyond 2027. Pushing Kogi West to the back of another cycle is not rotation. It is postponement with a signature on it.
- Disclose who participated in the process. Which stakeholders from Kogi West took part, and who authorised them to speak for the district? The people deserve transparency about the representation and consultations that produced the Accord.
- Clarify the political commitments arising from the Accord and explain how participating parties and stakeholders intend to implement them. An understanding that has no clear implementation pathway risks becoming a declaration of principle that can be abandoned when party primaries begin.
- Publish an implementation framework with clear timelines and accountability measures. The Committee should explain how the Accord will be translated into a transparent political arrangement, identifying the responsibilities of participating stakeholders and the mechanism for monitoring compliance ahead of the 2027 governorship succession process.
We have seen this pattern before. A committee is formed. Consultations are held across all 21 local government areas. A report is presented with ceremony. Then the matter disappears into “further consultations” until the election calendar has closed the door. KEA will not applaud a process that ends there.
This is not an argument against Kogi East or Kogi Central. It is an argument that rotation must have a date, a transparent basis for implementation, and a credible mechanism for accountability.
Kogi West is not asking for special treatment. It is demanding that the principle of equity be applied in a manner that gives every senatorial district a fair and credible opportunity to lead the state. After more than three decades, the question of political inclusion cannot be postponed indefinitely without undermining public confidence in the process.
To the Governor: you now hold the document. The people are watching what you do with it. The next step should be transparency, clarity and a commitment to an equitable political process.
To the Committee: if your Accord truly serves equity, publish it and state clearly how its principles will apply to the 2027 governorship succession. If it cannot withstand public scrutiny, it cannot command the confidence of the people it purports to represent.
KEA will continue to mobilise, publish and engage until the demand for Kogi West to have the opportunity to produce the governor in 2027 receives serious and transparent consideration.
Stakeholders, committee members and members of the public who wish to engage KEA on this matter may write to info@kogiequityalliance.org.ng.
– Hon. Adams Yusuf
Convener, Kogi Equity Alliance (KEA)
Email: info@kogiequityalliance.org.ng
