Yoruba in Kogi remain oppressed and dehumanised
By Mikhail Ali, Lokoja
The All Progressives Congress, APC Governorship primary today has produced former Auditor General Usman Ododo as the party’s candidate.
The primary has seen outcries from party members who insist that there was no primary but the imposition of Ododo on the party.
The emergence of Ododo came as a shock to many observers. Being an Ebira man, the state Governor expected to have encouraged power shift to the Yoruba speaking areas of Okun who are the second largest ethnic group in Kogi State.
The largest ethnic group, Igala have ruled the State for 18 years since 1991 during the Social Democratic Party, SDP era. Since 1999,the Igala have ruled the state for 16 years.
Okun also have some of the finest human resources with hundreds of Professors and people in almost every field of human endeavour but have constantly been cheated and undermined by the political structure in Kogi State.
Governor Yaya Bello seems to have come to make things worse.
“Yahaya Bello has set a horrific precedence. He has portrayed himself as self serving and least interested in peace and unity of Kogi State” Mr Oluyeba Agbana from Egbe in Kogi State and a member of APC told Irohinoodua.
Many party leaders who spoke to Irohinoodua said there were no elections and that ballot papers did not arrive in local communities on time while in many polling units, no election took place.
The APC had adopted direct primary ahead of the November election.
239 wards across the 21 local government areas of Kogi were expected to participate in the primary.
According to the APC, Ododo polled 78,704 votes to defeat six other contestants.
Ododo is the candidate of the current Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello. He had endorsed Ododo few days ago.
At the State Secretariat of the APC, the Secretary of the National APC Governorship Primary Committee, Patrick Obahiagbon released the results.
He said 93,729 is the total number of registered voters while 83,419 represented numbers of accredited voters.
He said Ahmed Ododo polled the highest votes of 78,704. Shaibu Audu scored 763 votes; a former Minister of State, Stephen Ochen; polled 552 votes, a former Executive Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Sanusi Ohiare scored 424 votes while the current Senator representing Kogi West in the National Assembly, Smart Adeyemi scored 311 votes.
Speaking further, Obahiagbon said Abubakar Achimugu polled 1,159 votes, Salami Ozigi got 1,506 votes
Obahiagbon said the election took place in 21 local government areas of the state and the result have been collated peacefully.
He said, “By the power conferred on the committee by virtue of Article 19 of the APC guidelines for the nomination of candidate for general election 2003, I Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon, Secretary of Election Committee Kogi State on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee, Governor Bello Matawale of Zamfara State hereby declared that Ahmed Usman Ododo, having scored the majority of lawful votes cast at the direct primary election conducted on the 14th day of April , 2023 in Kogi State is hereby declared as winner of the APC Kogi state primary election.
“He (Ahmed Usman Ododo) hereby return as the duly elected governorship candidate of APC for the November 2023 governorship election.”