Following the Independent National Electoral Commission’s announcement of a date for governorship election in Kogi state, the major opposition party in the state, Peoples Democratic Party, has said it will do everything possible to ensure that the incumbent governor, Yahaya Bello, does not return for a second term in office.
The party maintained that the hardship foisted on Kogi indigenes by the current administration was harrowing.
The party’s spokesperson, Mr Bode Ogunmola, in an exclusive chat with our correspondent, said there won’t be an escape route for All Progressive Congress and Governor Yahaya in the coming governorship election, considering the level of determination in the PDP.
“There is definitely no escape route for Yahaya in the coming election. He is not coming back into the office because we will not allow our people to go through the hell they are currently going through in this state for the second term.
“Though the decision is in the people’s hand, whether they want to continue with a government that has owed them several months’ salary, a government that has brought discomfort on them, a government that has brought misfortune ato them, a government which they have not enjoyed for a day. But let me tell you, if they like, let them use federal might, this time around, the power is coming back to PDP. We are not a party that uses propaganda like Bello is doing. The people of Kogi have tasted it and they can say which one among the parties is real.”
Ogunmola, while talking about some of the moves by PDP to wrest power from APC, said the party had zoned its governorship ticket to the Igala zone, in a bid to defeat the incumbent governor.
According to him, the decision was also to allow Igala zone in the state to complete the second term before another zone could take over.
“He has to test his credibility this time with an Igala candidate. We have decided to zone the ticket to Igala land so that they can complete the second term before we take it to another zone. Let me tell you, he must submit power to Igala people. PDP is an organised party and we know how to carry our people along. We will not allow Kogites to continue suffering under Bello and APC. Let us wait for the election time.”
The party spokesperson also debunked rumours about an ongoing misunderstanding in the party ahead of the coming governorship election.
However, a chieftain of APC, Alhaji Haddy Ametuo, has said PDP does not have what it takes to take over power from APC in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
He said, “Despite little issues in the party, the party is still loved by the indigenes, who will not choose to go back into PDP slavery. APC is still the party to beat in the country and in Kogi state.”
Meanwhile, there are already insinuations that late Audu Abubakar’s son, Mustapha Audu, may defect to PDP in order to clinch the governorship ticket if Yahaya’s dominance of APC continued.
A chieftain of the party from Lokoja, who doesn’t want his name mentioned, explained that, “If Yahaya continues like that, Audu’s son may defect to PDP to win the ticket. And when that happens, you know what will follow because the whole Igala people were behind his father and that will give him sympathy vote.”
Recall that Independent National Electoral Commission has announced November 2 as date for governorship elections in Kogi and Balyesa states.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC Chairman, when he appeared before a joint session of the Senate Committee on INEC and House Committee on Electoral Matters to defend INEC’s 2019 budget proposal, also said the total figure for the Commission’s 2019 budget proposal was N45.4billion.
He said, “This year, we are going to conduct two end-of-tenure elections into the offices of the governors in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
“Let me seize this opportunity here to say before the end of this week, INEC will issue a timetable and schedule of activities for the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.
“For 2019, we were presented with an envelope of N45.5 billion as our regular budget. This is the same envelope as in 2018, only slightly better than the envelopes of several years before them.”
