24th April, 2023
By Deji Abdulwahab
The Future President Support Group has urged the people of Kogi to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate, Alhaji Usman Ododo, for victory at the Nov. 11 poll.
Mr Muhammed Mustapha, the founder of the group, stated this on Sunday night at the unveiling ceremony in Abuja.
According to him, the group was unveiled due to Ododo’s laudable projects touching lives positively.
He said: “I am unveiling the Future President Support Group for APC Governorship Candidate, Alhaji Usman Ahmed Ododo, because of the overwhelming joy and enthusiasm displayed by his supporters after the primaries.
“I am the kind of person that I have not been actively involved in politics and consider myself a fence sitter, but the APC primaries that produced Ododo have changed my perspective.
“Although I had never heard of him before, the overwhelming joy and enthusiasm displayed by his supporters have inspired me to conduct research on him.
“I discovered that Ododo has been involved in several laudable projects, including building a standard hospital in his hometown in Upogoro, Okene LGA with his personal funds.”
Mustapha described Ododo as a selfless candidate who has Kogi indigenes’ best interest at heart, saying it is now time for Kogi people to rally behind Ododo, popularly known as flower boy.
“The reason why we are starting this rally outside the state is to engage all the Kogi people living outside the state to support the victory during the Nov. 11 governorship poll in Kogi.
“We are also trying to engage them irrespective of their tribes or religions to sensitise them on the need to transfer their voters’ cards to participate during the poll,” he said.
Mr Abdulmumuni Danga, the state Commissioner for Water Resources, expressed optimism that Ododo would consolidate the achievements recorded by Gov. Yahaya Bello.
Danga said: “The devil you know is better than the angel you have never met. I spent more than a year with Ododo as Auditor-General of the Local Governments.
“I have seen some projects that he personally put his money on and those projects such as education and hospital.
“So, having a such wonderful man with human character, we should know that giving him these tasks as a governor of the state, he will definitely do more than what Gov. Yahaya Bello has done in the state.”
Also, Mr Yinusa Jimoh, former President of Ebira Youth Elites Organisation of Nigeria, described Ododo as a silent achiever who the organisation’s campaign against open defecation.
“While I was President in the years 2018 and 2022, we were embarking on the campaign against open defecation across Kogi Central.
“We felt that we could not raise the money from our pockets to fund the project and began to engage some government officials.
“Coincidentally, I met with Alhaji Usman Ahmed Ododo. He was then the Auditor-General of the Local Governments in Kogi State.
“We submitted our proposal aimed at providing electrified toilets in each ward with solar and water systems,” Jimoh said.
He said that having gone through the proposal, Ododo was impressed and gave his organisation 80 per cent funds for the completion of the project.
“We sited the toilet at Ogaminana Market in Adavi Local Government Area. My message for this gathering is that this is not Ebira’s cause, this is a Kogi cause.
“This is because Ododo is a man that has done a lot in public service. His project did not only centre within Ebira land, it crossed across.
“In recent times, he just shared textbooks for science students because this is somebody that believes that the world is now migrating to a digital world. He wants to encourage our wards to imbibe science study,” he said.
NAN