Reviewing Kogi’s governorship primaries and expectations

Promise Ogbodu, a authorized practitioner, notes that the primaries and the outcomes had left a lot to be desired by which stakeholders may determine the nice and the dangerous sides of no matter roles they performed within the primaries.

Lugard Home, Kogi Governor’s Workplace, Lokoja, shall be vacant on January 27, 2024 and Gov. Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC) could have accomplished the eight-year tenure because the state governor.

The Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) has performed the needful, designing a timetable for the race.

In response to the timetable, there was a deadline of April 17 for all of the political events to provide their respective candidates for the Nov. 11 governorship election.

The train was additionally organised and concluded inside only a week by all of the political events however not with out the nice, the dangerous and the ugly sides.

The political events that participated have been APC, Individuals’s Democratic Get together (PDP), Motion Alliance (AA), Labour Get together (LP), Motion Democratic Congress ADC, Younger Progressives Get together (YPP) New Nigeria Individuals’s Get together (NNPP) and Individuals’s Redemption Get together.

Bu whereas the first election workout routines of AA, NNPP, YPP and PRP went easily, peaceable and profitable, these of APC, PDP, ADC and LP didn’t go as anticipated.

An entrepreneur, Olayinka Braimoh picked AA ticket, a distinguished politician, Alhaji Mubarak Musa received the NNPP ticket, Dr Abdullah Bayawo sailed by means of to be the flag bearer of PRP whereas Dr Samson Omale, an energetic occasion members picked YPP’s ticket within the state.

The ADC and LP had parallel major elections whereas APC and PDP, alternatively, had different candidates disagreeing and contesting the outcomes of the primaries, making a risk to the unity of the members in each events.

As an example, in PDP, the previous deputy governor of the state, Sunday Awoniyi challenged the emergence of Dino Melaye as candidate of the occasion and in APC, Alhaji Ahmed Usman-Ododo, the state Auditor-Common for Native Authorities, is opposed by Murtaza Yakubu-Ajaka, Sani Ohiere and Sen. Good Adeyemi, claiming that there was no major election on April 11.

Worse nonetheless is 2 members of APC have filed a case earlier than an Abuja Federal Excessive Court docket difficult the emergence of Ododo as candidate of the occasion for the Nov. 11 governorship election.

Realwan Akpanachi and Yahaya Seidu-Nuhu in an originating summons filed by their counsel, Promise Ogbodu, sued six of the contestants as first to sixth defendants.

They joined the APC and INEC defendants for what they described as violation of the Electoral Act 2022 and the structure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The primary to sixth respondents are Abdulkareem Jamiu (Chief of Employees), Jibril Momoh (Account-Common), Yakubu Okala (Auditor-Common), Asiwaju Idris (Commissioner for Finance), Salami Ozigi (Commissioner for Native Authorities and Chieftaincy Affairs) and Ahmed Usman-Ododo (Auditor-Common for Native Authorities Areas).

They prayed the courtroom to declare that the seventh respondent — APC — can’t validly nominate any of the primary to sixth respondents as its candidate for the governorship election.

In Labour Get together, two factions held individually primaries, producing two candidates.

Shortly earlier than Dr Ayo Olorunfemi-led LP governorship major election committee may declare the outcomes of the election there have been a number of gun pictures that despatched everybody on the venue away.

The story is just not totally different in ADC which had produced two candidates — Leke Abejide and Dele Bello-Williams by direct and oblique primaries respectively.

Observers specific concern that the agenda of those political events which were in controversy within the conduct of occasion primaries may need been compromised.

Nonetheless, they advise that public workplace holders ought to be decided to discharge their obligations successfully no matter the prior intrigues and variations of their pursuits.

In response to them, governance requires leaders who’re brave and disciplined to offer options to the nation’s challenges.

All in all, a critic, Prof. Afolabi Aribigbola of Adekunle Ajasin College, Ondo, imagine that the apparent expectations of Nigerians is major elections outcomes that can produce good and credible candidates that shall be dedicated to improvement.