By Sam Egwu
Sam Egwu writes on the changing scenario in Kogi State ahead of the state’s governorship election
Before now about 56 persons indicated interest and presented themselves to the people of Kogi State that they have the quality and substance to govern the state.
But that is not to be as the number has reduced to just five. Of these five, only two, presumably, have the clout to pull their weight when the chips are down.
They are the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Idris Ichalla Wada and his running mate Yomi Awoniyi and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Abubakar Audu and his running mate, Hon James Faleke.
Hon Philip Salawu is contesting on the platform of Labour party, (LP), Hon Akwu Goodman is on the platform of All Progressive Grand Alliance, (APGA).
However, it would seem that Audu, has won over a formidable ally, a former PDP gubernatorial aspirant. The first runner-up in the last PDP governorship primary in Kogi State, Alhaji Jibrin Isah, defected to the APC on Thursday in the state.
Isah, popularly called Echocho, crossed over to APC with the son of former governor of the state, Hon Mohammed Ibrahim Idris, former Senator Dangana Ochaja, Hon Tom Zakari, Hon Adamu Sani, Hon Ada Zigo and some immediate past council chairmen.
Receiving the defectors, Audu boasted that with the departure of Echocho, PDP is dead and buried. Isah, in turn, described Audu’s ambition as divine, noting that the state has gave PDP enough time to amend but they failed.
However an observer and follower of Isah, Abdullai Sule, has opined that his decision to defect to APC when election is just few weeks away was not the right thing to do.
According to Sule, Isa was expected to have collapsed his camp into that of Alhaji Yahaya Bello, a frontline APC governorship aspirant, to form a formidable opposition which would have given Governor Idris Wada and Prince Abubakar Audu a good fight at the polls.
Sule further asserted that with the political equation existing in Kogi State presently, the combination of Alhaji Isa and Bello, would have attracted massive votes for them or better still, given the PDP and APC a hot chase for Lugard House.
He believed that whoever emerges as the standard bearer would have negotiated for a christian deputy, and that would have caused ripples in the camps of both the APC and PDP.
Isah is quite popular considering that he has the sympathy of the working class voters who saw his contribution towards the development, enhancement and empowerment of the youths.
Echocho remains permanently in the minds of the people, but in the game of politics, all is fair.
It is widely believed that Echocho in 2011 won to fly the ticket of PDP, but along the line PDP came with another result that denied him his alleged victory. While all that is history now, it may have just been time for him to take back his pound of flesh from the party.
Bello, just like Isah, had lost his party’s ticket. Bello lost to Audu and since then, rumours that he would defect have refused to go away.
It had been widely rumored that Bello would contest on the platform of Social Democratic Party (SDP).
With the unfolding political re-engineering in Kogi State as a result of the gubernatorial election, its somehow difficult to say who will take the day for now.
Some school of thought however holds that Mohammed Idris is harmless as far as politics in Kogi State is concerned given the fact that he rode on his father’s back to win House of Representatives ticket in 2011, noting that left for Mohammed alone, he cannot win any follower to the APC as long as the father, Ibrahim Idris, remains solidly behind Wada.
Wada’s attempt at the second tenure has the blessing of the people who know the value of persons who would not like praising singing in whatever they do.
LEADERSHIP Sunday check revealed that Wada was badly under showcased and most of the aides were there not for Wada’s success but just in the team that makes Wada’s government. All summed up, Wada has all it takes to win.
With the political coast now very clear about who is who in the race to Lugard House Lokoja, its just a matter of time since Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has given out all the guidelines and shut door to new entrants. It means clearly that the moment of truth fast draws near.
To add glamour to the preparations and send strong warning to the youths of Kogi State not to offer themselves to be used as canon folders and dumped later, a popular musician, 2face Idibia has urged the youths to vote, not fight.
