A group of prominent leaders operating under the aegis of the Kogi West All Progressives Congress (APC) Leaders Forum has declared that the re-election of President Bola Tinubu and Governor Ahmed Ododo in 2027 is non-negotiable.
The Chairman of the Forum, Commander Jerry Omodara (retd.), who doubles as the Kogi State Security Adviser, made this declaration when he led members of the group on a visit to the Palace of the Obaro of Kabba, Oba Solomon Owoniyi, as part of efforts to foster unity and political alignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Omodara said President Tinubu had performed creditably in Kogi State, citing the approval of the Ajaokuta Free Trade Zone, the ongoing Kogi International Airport project, and the Kabba-Ilorin road as evidence of the administration’s commitment to the state’s development.
“This current government in the State and the government of Mr. President has done well. For Mr. President, he has done several things in Kogi State: Free Trade Zone, completion of Ajaokuta Steel Company, ongoing Kogi State International Airport. We are going to seek re-election for him,” he said.
He added that continuity remained the best option for the state’s progress. “As leaders, we have looked at it that continuity is the bet for Kogi State. The Kabba-Ilorin road, work has started. If we put all this together and look at what continuity will do for us in Kogi State, the best is that we must not negotiate the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he stated.
Omodara explained that the Forum comprised prominent leaders drawn from the seven local government areas of Kogi West, noting that not all members held government appointments. “Not all of us are appointees of the Government but we are Politicians, and we have seen from the beginning that unity within Kogi West has been eroded in the past years,” he said.
He also acknowledged the crucial role traditional rulers play in fostering unity within the zone, despite not being politically active themselves. “When we come together united, we will be able to front well for Kogi West for us to be able to re-elect Mr. President. We cannot do today without thinking of yesterday where we started from. There is a huge task ahead for you sir and other Traditional rulers in Kogi West,” he told the monarch.
On the lingering agitation for a Kogi West governorship, Omodara said the zone’s ambition could only be realised after the completion of Governor Ododo’s second term in 2031, urging unity between Kogi West and Kogi Central instead.
“We want cooperation and unity between Kogi West and Kogi Central. This is because no Senatorial District in Kogi State can produce Governor alone. The only way Kogi West can produce Governor is to support Kogi Central. We don’t want anything to come in between us and the Central because we have knowledge of people from Okun extraction going about that we can be Governor in 2027, it is not possible,” he said.
The Forum chairman also commended the achievements of Kogi State University, Kabba, which was established under former Governor Yahaya Bello, noting that the institution had recorded significant infrastructural development under the Ododo administration and now hosts over 3,000 students.
“FGYB may have established Kogi State University Kabba. However, we can see the continuity there. The work that is ongoing today [is] worth billions of Naira. Today, that school hosts over 3,000 students, which have added value to its host community and its environs,” he said.
Omodara used the occasion to felicitate with the Obaro on his eighth coronation anniversary and appealed to him to rally other Okun traditional rulers behind Governor Ododo’s re-election bid.
Responding, the Obaro of Kabba, Oba Owoniyi, commended the Forum’s initiative, describing it as timely, and pledged his loyalty to the present administration. He, however, urged members of the group to conduct themselves with discipline and avoid compromise, stressing that unity in the Kogi West senatorial district must remain a collective priority.
