It is said in my local dialect that a real man do not say “leave my hand” if he is faced with the challenge of engaging an unrepentant foe in a duel. It was widely circulated around Kogi state of the press conference that was held been the 28th of June, 2018 in Lokoja, the Kogi State Capital about the involvement Hon. James Abiodun Faleke in our political party, the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
This is a total display of arrant ignorance on the part of the organisers and their sponsors.
They lack knowledge of the calibre and the stuff of brains embedded in the most formidable political structure in Kogi state as at today, the Audu/Faleke political family.
It beats ones imagination the dept of hollowness and emptiness that pervades the thinking of some people who are referred to in this clime as politicians that it pleased God to deposit in this geographical space
When one hear of the news been peddled around town that the same agents of evil crusades are planning to submit a petition to the All Progressive Congress (APC) National Working Congress (NWC) and the APC Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the man who the World had known for his political astuteness and steadfastness is into some sort of anti party activities of any form in Kogi state.
How could Faleke the man with simply the largest political followership in Kogi state today, the man that is greatly love,adore and with a tremendous good will across the nooks and crannies of Kogi state, the man who despite not been a Lagosian by birth the very good Lagos people love and adore be in any form of anti party activity ?
Why won’t they ask themselves questions ? They will not because mischief and malice is its own destroyer.
Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, remains a loyal founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a member of the Federal House of Representative representing the good and loving people of Ikeja Federal Constituency of Lagos state, Nigeria
Before the sudden dead of the best Governor Kogi people have known since the state was created in 1991,Prince Abubakar Audu, the Audu/Faleke political family that Hon. Faleke was second in command till the ill fated 2015 Gubernatorial Election In Kogi State, was and still the most formidable in Kogi state today and indeed one of the best of such in Nigeria. The result of the Kogi State Gubernatorial election of November 2019 is a huge testimonial to these fact
The whole World and indeed Nigerians are aware of what happened in the aftermath of that election in Kogi State and how the battle to right the monumental wrong was fought up to the apex court of the land.
Soon after the Supreme court proclaimed Yahaya Bello the winner, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke did not only respect the judgment of the Supreme court but was totally poised at submitting himself for any form of settlement and reconciliation with the new APC government in Kogi state inthe interest of the people of Kogi state and of his party.
Several overtures towards reconciliation by Hon. Faleke were frustrated by the Kogi state Government hugely supported by the former APC chairman, Chief John Oyegun.
The Audu/Faleke political family that laboured for the election the success medal of which was handed to the Governor was left completely in the cold far away from the structure and made to continue to lick the wounds and pain of their toils
It must be noted that several efforts were made by the APC Leadership at the National level towards reconciling the Audu/Faleke group with Governor Yahaya Bello and the State Government to no avail as all such efforts were frustrated by the Governor himself.
The APC National Working Committee set up two powerful peace committees to reconcile the two factions in Kogi State.
It must be noted also that the Audu/Faleke team approached the Governor of Jigawa state before the last congresses of the party for a possible intervention and reconciliation.
Among such other efforts by Hon. James Abiodun Faleke was his sending the state APC leaders to meet with the Governor for a possible internal resolution within the party in the State, since according to Faleke, in the long run, the state belongs to us all ! Let us all see the need for a possible reconciliation with the aim of engendering peace, but again the Governor refused.
No one beats a baby and forbids him not to cry ! After over two years of waiting, hoping and failed expectations in a very uncertain political climate for a possible positive reasoning intervention believing the Governor will somehow come to realise the great gain hidden beneath peaceful coexistence within the party and even among parties, what exactly is the choice left for these very resilient, hard working and astute politicians in the mould of Audu/Faleke group ?
For those who don’t indulge themselves in self deceit let me remind them that the name Audu/Faleke has metamorphosed into a great and mighty brand in the politics of Kogi and indeed Nigeria and is being used by almost all interest groups in the state or elsewhere to advance their future political ambitions.
Any other group ,groups or even political party laying claim to whatever structure as solid and as vibrant as those who worked themselves very hard into the consciousness of the people of the state like Audu/Faleke that hugely won the Presidential election of 2015 and November 2015 gubernatorial election in Kogi purely on goodwill is simply dancing naked in Lokoja market while no one is beating bata
This group, having weigh all available options in the prevailing circumstances after due and proper consultations especially after the manner the state congresses were received by the party at the national level decided to move emass to another party.
Should any sane person begrudge them ? Yes we are being begrudged.
As soon as they made it public that they are moving to the African Democratic Party (ADC) and with Comerade Isah Daniel ( the Prof ) the workaholic Director General of the Kogi State APC campaign committee in the 2015 National and State elections as the interim Kogi state chairman the rumour mill ignorantly took to the streets insinuating and alleging that it must be Hon. Faleke thar sponsored him chairman, mischief makers took to their usual call fabricating lies that Hon. James Abiodun was behind their decision.
How can a non member of a party sponsor a state chairman for another party ! The dumb only hears themselves
Do they not know, are they not aware or better still could they be pretending they are not aware that Hon.James Abiodun after thorough political soul searching and due consultations had returned back to Lagos APC to run his third term election into the Federal House of Representative representing Ikeja Federal Constituency long before the APC congresses and as such cannot interfere in any form or be in the know of any move by the Audu/Faleke supporters in Kogi State as to what they do next
In their press release, they agreed that Hon Faleke represents Ikeja Federal Constituency in Lagos state but the devil will not let them agree too that he cannot at the same time be a member of ADC in Kogi state
One keep wondering how the Dr John of that false and malicious press release got to such an ugly conclusion that Hon Faleke sponsored or imposed people in ADC in the state ! This is a great falsehood to whip up unnessary sentiments that should be roundly condemned
That the aggrieved members of APC in Kogi are of a very sound mind, very great men and women who are intelligent enough to decide what they want at all time is to state the obvious.
Ever before he decided return to Lagos, Faleke was preoccupied with the thought that the Audu/Faleke group would be integrated into the Kogi state APC government, a government they all laboured, toiled and spent their God giving energy time and resources in bringing about. Rather, the APC Government of Kogi state appointed PDP members into offices and denied the APC members any form of recognition and instead continued to sponsor fabricated lies to smooth up their political image
We are on course and contended in our party the African Democratic Party (ADC).
LET THE HANDSHAKE ACROSS ALL FRONTIERS CONTINUES
One can only conclude here by advising those agents of the State Government to have a rethink and dispense their energy at working hard to ensure smooth governance in the state
We are close to reclaiming and redeeming our stolen MANDATE.
– Hon. Musa Bakare
