BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
“Ahmed Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner of the Kogi State Governorship Election and returned elected.”
The above declaration made by the State Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Johnson Urama, who is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, at the headquarters of INEC in Lokoja on Sunday, November 12, 2023, ushered a new political era into Kogi.
According to INEC, APC’s Ododo won the keenly contested November 11 governorship election with 446,237 votes, defeating his closest rival, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party, who scored 259,052, while Dino Melaye of the People’s Democratic Party polled 46,362 votes.
Leke Bejide of the African Democratic Party scored 21,891 votes, while Adejo Okeme of the LP got 567 votes. The total number of registered voters was 1,932,474, and accredited voters numbered 794,500.
The commission said 9,601 votes were rejected out of the 791,890 total votes cast. Results from the 21 local government areas in the state were collated with the APC candidate sweeping over half of the LGAs.
Ododo, an ex-Auditor General of Local Government in Kogi under Governor Yahaya Bello, was the anointed candidate of the governor who is ending his double terms of eight years on January 14, 2024.
After Ododo won the party’s ticket in the primary held in April 2023, he hit the ground running with consultations and visitations to notable stakeholders in and outside Kogi.
As part of efforts to unite the people of Kogi State, Ododo also visited all the past leaders and co -contestants and asked them to join hands with him to move Kogi to the next level.
“The Supreme Court finally nailed the coffin of the legal tussle on October 23, 2023 when it affirmed that there was an APC primary election which duly produced Ododo Ahmed Usman as the party’s candidate”
His candidature was keenly challenged in court by some aggrieved aspirants who claimed there was no APC primary election in the state but Ododo remained undaunted and eventually scaled through the legal hurdles.
Apparently sensing that there was no merit in their suits, some of the aggrieved later withdrew their cases at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Among those who withdrew the cases were the former Executive Director of Rural Electrification Agency, Sanusi Ohiare, and Murtala Yakubu Ajaka, who later left the party for the Social Democratic Party where he ran for the gubernatorial contest against Ododo.
However, another aspirant, Senator Smart Adeyemi, pursued his case to both the appellate and Supreme Court respectively. This, it was gathered, created a lot of tension within the party. This was sequel to long adjournment, but while the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed the candidature of Ododo as the flag bearer, Adeyemi still went on appeal to the Apex Court of the land, the Supreme Court.
While the case lasted, it was a tension-soaked period because it was the peak period for the electioneering campaigns and the election date was drawing nearer.
However, the Supreme Court finally nailed the coffin of the legal tussle on October 23, 2023 when it affirmed that there was an APC primary election which duly produced Ododo Ahmed Usman as the party’s candidate.
The victory of Ododo on the primary election litigation further boosted his credibility as the electioneering campaign was strengthened and more accepted by the majority of the people of the state.
In Lokoja, Okene, Anyigba, and other major cities and towns in the Confluence State, it was a sort of festival for the APC as many support groups pitched their tents publicly with the ruling party with banners bearing Ododo’s pictures and declaring total support for him. It was obvious that APC proved that it is on ground and popular among the people of the state.
Pundits also noted that Ododo also rode on the acceptability and achievements of the outgoing state governor, Yahaya Bello who anointed and gave him all necessary support.
Even when campaign became more intense and opposition parties started engaging in fierce social media war, campaign of calumny and introduced tribalism to the political game, the governor, party’s hierarchy and all supporters of the APC remained undaunted and had vowed to retain the number one exalted seat at Lugard House in Lokoja.
In a bid to combat the politics of ethnicity and religion introduced by the opposition parties, Governor Bello, known for his political sagacity and acumen, made several moves in the wake of the election to quench the political propaganda and reassured the people of the state that Ododo’s agenda is ‘Kogi First’ and not a sectional pursuit.
The “Star Governor” as fondly called by his admirers, led the party’s candidate to meet with all traditional rulers and other critical stakeholders in Kogi State and urged them not to dance to the ethnic card being played by the opposition.
Political watchers said Governor Bello was proud to introduce Ododo to everyone because of the litany of achievements of his over seven year-old administration in the state.
Governor Bello had warned all the supporters of APC to refrain from any act capable of undermining the peace and tranquility of the state.
He noted emphatically that his administration had done enough in the areas of infrastructural development, Education, Health, Security, Economy and other critical sectors in the state economy to win the governorship poll.
Even in the face of provocation during the electioneering campaigns, the governor was busy preaching peace and appealing to the traditional chiefs to appeal to their various communities to ensure peace reigns.
At every campaign event of APC, chieftains and members of the opposition parties, especially, SDP and PDP defected to the ruling party and declared their support for Ododo.
The chartered accountant traversed the three senatorial districts of the state for intensive campaigns and even wooed voters in places considered as strongholds of his co-contestants.
Though no one was so sure of where the pendulum would swing before the D-Day, one of the biggest factors that political watchers had disclosed would work in favour of Ododo was that APC is being well rooted in Kogi Central senatorial district and since 2015 governorship election that produced Bello, the people in the senatorial district have followed APC religiously and have been supporting APC which accounted for the reasons why the electorate came out en masse to vote for their own son, Ododo.
Political observers had also argued that the Kogi West factor contributed to the emergence of Ododo. Since some cross section of Igala extractions had moved to SDP to reclaim the seat of power, pundits described the Western senatorial as a beautiful bride that will determine where the pendulum swings.
A sign that the campaign of calumny and ethnicity introduced by the opposition did not fly, Ododo swept majority of votes in Kogi West as voters came out to give APC candidate maximum support to deliver him against the backdrop of the three candidates coming from the zone namely the PDP candidate, Senator Dino Melaye, ADC candidate, Leke Abejide and that of Action Alliance, Olayinka Braimoh
Adjudged by many observers, both international and local as the most peaceful election when compared with the previous polls in the state, citizens of Kogi filed out on Election Day and voted for the candidate of choice as security operatives ensured security of lives and property during the poll.
After INEC declared Ododo as winner, many were not surprised because of the weight of support he had pulled before the election and his early lead.
His emergence was greeted with jubilation and a litany of congratulations from President Bola Tinubu, APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, APC Governors in the country, among other stakeholders in the state.
Addressing journalists after the declaration, the state governor, Yahaya Bello, assured the people of the state that the governor-elect, Ododo, would not disappoint them, stressing that he would continue from where his administration stops.
Congratulating the governor-elect, traditional rulers in Kogi affirmed the traditional institutions’ commitment to continued collaboration with the state government to enhance the unity and development achieved under the current administration.
The monarchs commended INEC, security agencies and other stakeholders for the peaceful and credible conduct of the governorship election.
They spoke when they paid a congratulatory visit to Yahaya Bello, at his GRA residence, in Okene. The Atta Igala and serving President of the Kogi State Traditional Council of Chiefs, His Royal Majesty, Mathew Alaji Opaluwa Ogwuche-Akpa, said the purpose of their visit was to celebrate with the governor, his administration, and the governor-elect, Usman Ododo, for the peaceful and successful governorship poll.
Represented by Obaro of Kabba, Oba Solomon Dele Owoniyi, the monarch recalled their peace accord meeting with relevant stakeholders before the election, where they were advised to be cautious of information on social media and where they were assured that the government and security agencies had implemented mechanisms for a peaceful election.
On the election in Okunland, Oba Solomon stressed that the people were united in acknowledging and rewarding the governor for the positive impact of his administration.
Governor Bello, accompanied by Governor-elect Ahmed Usman Ododo, expressed gratitude to the traditional rulers for their prayers and the pivotal roles they played in ensuring the peaceful conduct of the election.
Speaking after INEC presented certificates of return to him and his running mate, Joel Salifu, the governor-elect assured the people that he would make good his campaign promises to build on the sterling achievements of Governor Yahaya Bello while preserving the unity of the state.
Similarly, the Coalition of United Political Parties commended the electoral body for upping its game in the just concluded off-cycle elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo States in spite of the overwhelming challenges it had to cope with during the polls.
“At every campaign event of APC, chieftains and members of the opposition parties, especially, SDP and PDP defected to the ruling party and declared their support for Ododo”
The CUPP said, as the foremost opposition group in the country, it was pertinent to give kudos to the umpire in situations where it deserved it just as the Coalition had knocked it for lapses in the past.
They said from the reports of the different observer groups and Non-Governmental Organisations working with the CUPP and others across the three states, the conduct and outcome of the election appeared to have been best in Kogi State.
The group said, “Overall, Kogi State appears to have been where the election was best in conduct and outcome. YIAGA Africa even confirmed in their reports that their Pre-election projections and the ultimate outcome in Kogi State substantially tally with INEC declarations.”
The Coalition leaders spoke at a press conference in Abuja, during the presentation of communiqué on the review of the off-season elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States, with the theme; ‘INEC, Nigerian elections and the rest of us’.
They also commended security agencies for the prompt arrests of individuals who were seen to pose security threats in the elections in the three states and their refusal to succumb to the blackmail of some political actors who had attempted to hamstring them in the performance of their constitutional duties of securing elections even before the election date.
Barrister Emeka Igwe, Member, Steering Committee of the CUPP, who presented the communiqué on behalf of others who were also present at the press briefing, said reports by various observer groups and CUPP members on ground, especially party agents, showed that there was a great improvement in the early arrival of INEC officials and election materials at Polling Units “except in few places due to security and logistic factors.”
Notwithstanding the commendations to INEC, PDP and SDP candidates faulted the poll and alleged malpractices. They hinted their intentions to challenge Ododo’s victory in court.
However, Kogi State APC Governorship Campaign Council has expressed readiness for any litigation from the opposition parties in the state, insisting that Kogi people voted for a united state.
Spokesperson of the campaign council, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, said every vote the party secured in Kogi East represented hundreds of voters, who were harassed, injured and even had their houses burnt for their political beliefs.
Be that as it may, analysts have said that expectations are high and there are enormous tasks ahead of the in-coming governor, urging Ododo not to deviate from Governor’s Bello’s peaceful and united Kogi State agenda which they said have culminated in transforming the state.
