#KogiDecides: Odds favour Audu

In from Timothy Enietan-Matthews . . .

The much awaited Kogi State governorship election has come at last and in a few hours, voting will commence all over the state.

Political activities have been on a feverish pitch and as normal, political horse trading is the order of the day. Early feelers in the state however point to an Audu Abubakar victory, as so many factors on ground suggests that the incumbent governor may be facing the battle of his life to stay back in office.

Factors that will shape the election

Wada’s performance

The general belief in the state is that the incumbent governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Idris Wada may probably be the worst performing governor in the history of Kogi State. It is in the view of many that the state has not been blessed with good governance since the return of democratic governance in 1999 and that the current administration may just be the worst.

The state is plagued with decayed infrastructures, especially roads, leaving many important routes in the state impassible. The Wada administration has not been able to bring any meaningful development to the state believed to be one of the most endowed in the country and this, from feelers, has incensed voters who believe it will be a disaster to saddle Captain Wada with the affairs of the state for another term.

According to residents of the state capital, most of the few things that can be pointed to as indices of development in the state are attributable to former Governor Audu Abubakar, who is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A resident of Lokoja, Enejoh James, while speaking to Ripples Nigeria, said the 13 years the PDP has been in power is nothing but disaster, arguing that the party, instead of building on what Abubakar Audu did in his first and second coming, both former Governor Ibrahim Idris and Captain Wada destroyed them, leaving the state in prostrate position.

“If you drive through Lokoja Township, you will be ashamed of what we have on ground. All the estates you see around here were built by Audu. What has the 13 years of PDP added to the state? The township roads built by Audu are in terrible states. Going through Ganaja junction is a nightmare just because of the many bad sections of the road. The governor does not seem to be bothered with anything.

“If Lokoja, the state capital is in the state it is today then you can imagine what other areas will be like”, James said, insisting that the popular feeling in the state is that Wada cannot be risked for a second term.

LG worker’s discount

If there is any major sour point in the ad of Captain Wada in Kogi State, it is the fate of local government workers, who have had the misfortune of being paid as low as 20 or 30 per cent of their salaries for years unending.

The state government, citing lack of money and dwindling economic fortunes even before the fall of oil prices, has prorated the salaries of local government workers in the state. These workers are aggrieved and are determined to vote out the PDP administration that has subjected them to so much hardship.

An executive member of the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, confided in Ripples Nigeria in Lokoja that their members have been mobilized to vote en-mass for the APC candidate.

The implication of this is that local government workers in the 21 LGs in the state may cast their votes for Audu alongside their friends and families.

Audu’s deal with sacked LG chairmen, counselors

The public defection of about 13 sacked local government chairmen from the PDP to the APC on Wednesday, November 18th at the grand finale of the APC rally in Lokoja, came to many as a surprise, but for those privy to what transpired, it was a master stroke of a deal by Audu.

According to informed sources, the chairmen, who were sacked via a court order but won on appeal, had approached Governor Wada on the possibility of their immediate reinstatement, but the governor said he would return them on the 26th, days after election must have been concluded. Not satisfied with the governor’s promise, they were said to have approached Audu, who promised to not only reinstate them, but also allow them to serve out their tenure, in which they still have more than a year to go.

Audu was said to have went a step further by reducing the pledge into writing and signing it with representatives of the chairmen. This was said to have emboldened the chairman to throw their weight behind Audu, with 13 out of the 21 chairmen openly defecting to the APC.

On the same day, a number of special advisers and special assistants of the governor also defected, greatly reducing the camp of the governor.

The Faleke/Awoniyi factor

Findings also revealed that one of the major factors that may swing victory the way of ex-governor Audu is his choice of running mate in the person of Hon. Abiodun Faleke, a current two term member of the House of Representatives.

Read also: Kogi guber: The gathering storm against Wada

Though there was uproar when he was first announced as Audu’s running mate, the people of Kogi West Senatorial District have accepted him and are working for the Audu/Faleke ticket.

It was gathered that many of the electorate in the state see the current Deputy Governor, Architect Yomi Awoniyi as another version of Governor Wada. He has been accused of being too aloof from the people and failed to attract any form of development to his zone in the state.

Faleke, however, is seen as the man who can deliver the goods and attract government’s attention to the area.

There are also indications, that prominent indigenes of Kogi West, who have stayed away from politics over the years, are all on ground in state to mobilize support for the Audu/Faleke ticket.

Anti-person, not anti-party

One interesting scenario in the Kogi governorship election is the introduction of what is termed Anti-person.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that prominent members of the PDP have been working and mobilizing support for the APC candidate, in what appears to be a grand plot to deny Captain Wada a second term in office.

It was observed that these prominent PDP members, with equally influential foot soldiers across the state have been in the fore front of promoting the Audu/Faleke ticket.

When it was pointed out to one of them that what they are doing amounts to anti-party activities, the prominent PDP member was quick to say they are only anti-person and not anti-party.

According to him, there is a distinction between rejecting the candidate of their party and rejecting the party.

“We are still bonafide members of the PDP but we also reserve the right to determine what candidate to support in an election. We are equally free to give direction to our followers. That is what we have been doing and not anti-party”, he said.

Bailout money and election financing

The camp of Governor Wada may also be feeling the refusal of the Federal Government to release the N51 billion bailout money, as the governor’s team may have been deprived of the needed financial war chest to prosecute the election.

Wada had alerted Kogites that the Federal Government had frustrated the release of the money because it wanted to frustrate the efforts of the state government to offset salary arrears due to workers and pensioners in the state.

However, the state government might have been economical with the truth, as there are allegations that the governor’s camp wanted the money desperately so that it could properly prosecute the election.

According to sources in the state, the PDP is for the first time handicapped financially and unable to throw around money in such a way that would sway the thinking of voters.

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now