The people of Kogi Central Senatorial District, on Saturday, 28 October, 2023, trooped out, massively, from all corners of the zone to declare their total support for the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Usman Ododo, and to stress that the district is a no-go area for opposition parties in the November 11 poll.
Indigenes said the kind of mammoth crowd that converged on Agassa Junction, Okene, in solidarity with the APC and its candidate, had not been witnessed before in the history of electioneering in the state.
According to them, the unprecedented crowd is a clear sign that Kogi Central will deliver, en bloc, for the ruling party in the election, which the state governor has reiterated will be free, fair and peaceful.
The various speakers, who spoke at what was described as the most attended rally in the history of the state, stressed that the massive turnout was an indication of the forthcoming resounding victory for the APC.
Addressing the excited supporters, mainly Ebira indigenes, the Minister of Steel Development and Director General, Kogi State APC Governorship Campaign Council, Shaibu Abubakar Audu, said, “This crowd gathered here today is unprecedented in the political history of Kogi State. In my years of following the politics of Kogi State, without mincing words, this is a game changer, a final nail on the aspiration of the opposition political parties in the State.
“The vision of Alhaji Usman Ahmed Ododo which has attracted this crowd is to provide agricultural revolution across the State, with massive crops produced across the senatorial district. We are here to pursue a Kogi agenda and not an ethnic agenda. The incoming administration will build on the legacies of Governor Yahaya Bello in massively providing infrastructure and empowerment for the people.
“The Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is interested in the revitalisation of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant. He has asked that Ajaokuta be declared an industrial park. The President is also interested in ensuring that the free trade scheme across Nigeria is reviewed so that Ajaokuta can be declared a free trade zone.”
“Once that is done, it would create massive jobs; 500,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created for our teeming youths. This is the reason the President is concerned and has said we cannot afford to outsource a critical State like Kogi State to a hostile opposition party. Kogi State will remain an APC State,” he declared.
In his remarks, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mohammed Jamiu Asuku, said the people of Kogi Central had, by the mammoth crowd, testified to the great achievements of Governor Bello.
“The mammoth crowd is a testimony that indeed Governor Yahaya Bello has done more than enough for the people of the State. The mammoth crowd is a testimony that indeed the APC has chosen an acceptable candidate. The people of Kogi Central have, by today’s turnout, resolved to vote massively for Alhaji Usman Ahmed Ododo and Comr. Salifu Joel,” he said.
One of the key stakeholders of Kogi East Senatorial District, Hajia Halima Alfa, commended Governor Yahaya Bello for bringing a new dimension of politics to the State, and described the Governor as a prophet well respected at home.
“I have never seen this kind of crowd in Kogi State in my entire political life, since I started attending rallies in 1999. Kogi Central is no doubt APC. History will no doubt be made come November 11, as the district will produce the highest vote for the APC,” she declared.
Mohamed Idris, son of former Governor of Kogi State, Ibrahim Idris, who publicly declared his support for the APC candidate, urged the people of Kogi Central, and the State at large, to follow the man and party that know the road, insisting that there was no vacancy in Lugard House for opposition political parties.
Governor Yahaya Bello, who was visibly elated by the unprecedented turnout, described the sea of heads at the rally and the acceptance displayed as a show of love for the APC and appreciation of the party’s achievements under his watch.
He thanked President Bola Tinubu for his quality leadership, and for his unflinching support for Kogi State, adding that the party in the State would not disappoint the President and would win, landslide, in the coming election.
He said, “This unprecedented crowd is an indication that the APC has won. We have no opposition in Kogi Central and in Kogi State. We did it before, we will do it again come November 11. As an administration, we have done our best by uniting the people of the State. We met, on assumption of office, fault lines of disunity, ethnicity and injustice. But under our administration, we have been able to mend all the fault lines and Kogi State is now united.
“We have created employment. We built infrastructure. We empowered our women and youth like never before under any administration in the State since creation. We have made fairness, equity, justice our priority.”
“I can assure you that we are leaving Kogi State better than we met it for the incoming administration. Alhaji Usman Ahmed Ododo is a capable hand. He is competence personified. Let’s support him to build on the legacies we have created,” Governor Bello urged.
He assured the people that the elections would be violence-free, noting that the APC Governorship Candidate was not coming to learn on the job, not promoting ethnic agenda, and would hit the ground running with visible results in terms of building on the achievements of his administration.
He called on security agencies to continue the good job they had been doing in the state and clamp down on criminals before, during and after the elections.
The APC Governorship Candidate, Usman Ododo, expressed the confidence that Kogi would remain an APC State after the November 11 governorship election.
“I will continue to deliver on the mandate of our party for the development of Kogi State and the wellbeing of our good people. We are serious about meeting the yearnings and aspirations of our people. We have been doing that under my mentor, Governor Yahaya Bello, and we will continue to do so,” he said.
Highlights of the rally was massive defection of members of the SDP, PDP and other political parties to the APC.
