James Abiodun Faleke at 66: The leader Kogi can not ignore

By Richard Elesho

His first political outing and homecoming were like a tsunami that redefined the Kogi political landscape in an unprecedented fashion. It was a homecoming reminiscent of Thomas Hardy’s epic book: “The Return of the Native.” The reception was awesome.

Before the 2015 electoral cycle, James Abiodun Faleke was a little-known electoral entity in Kogi, his home state – just another story of success in a foreign land. In fact, not many people knew the Lagos lawmaker had his roots in the North Central.

But he came home big in 2015 when the late Prince Abubakar Audu, a former governor of the State, headhunted him to be his running mate on the All Progressives Congress, APC gubernatorial ticket. By every standard, Audu was a very tasteful politician who got another man of colour to be his partner on what he described as a “rescue mission.”

The duo elevated electioneering campaign into an appealing spectacle as they mounted a well decorated, open roof luxury auto-mobile, striking the right cord with the electorate. Their caravan, the first of its kind on Kogi soil, held people spellbound as it snaked round campaign grounds scavenging for votes. It was the cynosure of all eyes, and in no time, Faleke, who had a new cognomen, ‘ATM¹ became the rallying point of the party in Kogi west and central, while Audu manned the east.

Faleke’s style was engaging, interpersonal, and focused. He set up one-on-one meetings with individuals and groups from other parties, including their leaders, with the aim to woo them to his side. It was a measure that worked. One after the other, people started dumping the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, under whose platform, the then incumbent governor, Idris Ichalla Wada, was seeking reelection.

Among the people who dumped the umbrella for the broom were 15 serving local government chairmen, vice chairmen, several councillors, and other appointees

The PDP’s loss was just a question of time. It was no surprise then that Wada suffered a bloody nose, with the APC candidate beating him by more than 41,000 votes in the November 21 election.

Not a few analysts partly gave credit to Faleke for the APC turnaround performance. Indeed, Audu had twice lost his bid for reelection with various running mates under the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, and the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.

However, Audu’s sudden death while the results were being compiled posed a permanent clog in the wheel of his victory. It was novel, and the APC, in an unexpected decision overlooked Faleke, went to the archives to award the votes to Yahaya Bello, who was the first runner up in the primary election that produced Audu. Series of fireworks to test the decision of the party commenced and eventually terminated at the Supreme Court in favour of Bello.

While the legitimacy battle of the administration raged in the courts, Faleke, who had turned down an offer to deputise Bello went back to his Lagos work in the National Assembly, maintaining a matured quiet mien about his denial at home. In spite of his taciturnity, the lawmaker had made a statement by his carriage.
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Faleke’s legislative imprints at the House of Reptesentatives stand out in bold relief as the Chairman of the Finance Committee. He provides oversight for public finance, initiate legislative reforms to ensure fiscal discipline, probity, and accountability.

In his Ikeja Federal constituency, his ubiquitous presence and landmark projects and empowerment schemes are, like the MTN pay off, “Everywhere you go.” He has done the asphalt laying and tarring of nearly all Ikeja roads and streets as well as empowering a large army of the youth and the elderly.

His “Korope bus” for transport business numbering over a thousand were given to the young and able bodied unemployed youth to build their own economically secure future. This is in addition to securing jobs and other economic opportunities for his constituents.

How time flies! It is now more than a decade since the traumatic drama of those days in Kogi, and all eyes are on Faleke to continue the battle where Audu left it.

At the centre of the matter is the quest for a Kogi governor of Okun extraction. Since the state was created about 35 years ago, precisely on 27th August 1991, no Okun person has been elected as governor. Out of its three main ethnic blocks, the Igala, through Audu, Ibrahim Idris, and Wada, has ruled for 18 years, while the Ebira, through Bello and the incumbent, Usman Ododo, has ruled for 10, and still counting.

This does not include the four years when the late Alhaji Adamu Attah was governor in Kwara State. Except for the interim six-week hiatus when former Speaker Clarence Olafemi was acting governor, the Okun has been kept on solitary abeyance from the number one office.

Not a few people see Faleke as the surest route for fulfilling the longstanding Okun dream. The reasons for this are not far-fetched. He has a network of friends and supporters from his brief but impactful Audu joint candidacy.

But it is even his ties outside the state that pitch him as the perfect man for the job. Faleke’s unassailable links to President Bola Tinubu, under whom he cut his political teeth and other APC power brokers, are too strong to be ignored.

He was the secretary of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, in 2023, and the president regularly acknowledged his loyalty, value, and other sterling qualities.

The graduate of Purchasing and Supply has been under pressure from across all corners of Kogi State to throw his hat to the ring of the 2027 gubernatorial contest. Many social media platforms and groups have been created by his ever-widening and eager supporters to water his appetite for the contest. His assumed interest in Lugard House, or the lack thereof, have been dominating public discussions in the state.

While his supporters argue that his leadership is what the state needs right now, those averse to him counter that he is a national asset that shouldn’t encumber himself with local politics. It may be safe to posit that for now, the fear of JAF is the beginning of wisdom in the Confluence State.

Faleke, a native of Ekinrin Adde, Ijumu LGA, Kogi State, and product of the Kaduna Polytechnic, began his political career in 2003 when then Lagos governor Tinubu appointed him as executive secretary of the newly created Ojodu Local Council Development Area, LCDA.

From that position, he was elected chairman of the council. Based on his result oriented performance, built on humility, honesty, and accountability, he was elected a federal legislator. Because of his experience, team spirit, and attention to details many people refer to him as the legislator-general.

Born on 25th December 1959, this season, the quintessential politician turns 66. As a typical omoluabi that he is, will he heed the peoples call?

Time will tell. For now, it is a happy birthday to legislator-general, the one without borders.