Kogi Central: Inside the battle by Bello, Obaro, Adoke for APC senatorial ticket

By Richard Elesho

The race to become the next senator to represent Kogi Central in the National Assembly is promising to be one of the most interesting in the race to 2027 general election. Since the ruling APC made a tidal inroad into Kogi state, occupying Lugard House first in 2016, it has continued its spread into every nook and cranny of the state.

Except for the doggedness of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Nduaghan, the APC’s dream top-to-bottom victory would have been without blemish. Appropriately christened as the amazon of Kogi politics, she is not only the highest opposition elective office holder in the state, but also the only non-APC public official in the entire state. This may explain why her party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has granted her automatic ticket to seek reelection on its platform.

While the general election may hold significant drama, what is of immediate concern to the common man in the zone is the race for the APC senatorial ticket. Three people purchased the APC’s nomination and expression of interest forms at N20m each. The first to do so was Momoh Y. Obaro, from Okehi local government; then a group of market women bought the forms for forner governor Yahaya Bello from Okene. The third leg in the race is Yusuf Adoke from Adavi.

Before the sale of forms opened, Bello had been played up as a likely unopposed or consensus candidate. The reasons for this are obvious. Now regarded as the ‘supreme leader’ by his near-cultic followers, the former governor has easily metamorphosed to an unrivalled kingmaker in the state. Once his interest in the senatorial seat was confirmed, all other aspirants, but one shrank back to their cocoons. Who would dare the white lion?

The resolve on open and direct primaries by the party leadership encouraged more people to enter the ring. Whereas Obaro and Adoke were separately reported to have appeared before its screening committee in Abuja, there were media insinuations that Bello shunned the exercise. The screening results were being awaited at the time of this report.

All three are said to be eminently qualified for election to the Red Chamber. It is, however, believed that only two, Bello and Obaro, count as sturdy contenders, mainly because of Adoke’s relative obscurity.

Bello’s credentials as a former governor with deep pockets and godfather of his successor are well known. The state was secured under his watch. His reign also witnessed significant footprints in education; infrastructure and recalibrated the participation of youth and women in governance. To underscore his rising profile he had attempted to vie for the presidential ticket of his party in the last general election cycle.

However, irregular salary payment, nepotism, and alleged corruption blighted his regime. In fact, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has made a nest for the former governor since leaving office about three years ago and dragged him before multiple judicial bodies in the land. The anti- graft palaver is perhaps the biggest moral burden for the erstwhile number one citizen.

Obaro, the Secretary of the APC in the United Kingdom, is coming to the race with decades of experience in partisan politics and without any stain on his reputation. Generally considered as a realist and quiet mobiliser, those rooting for him point to his consistency and progressive credentials. The former Director of Finance of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had his inaugural foray into Kogi politics in 2002, when he sought the party’s governorship ticket along with the likes of late Senator A.T Ahmed, Alex Qadiri, and Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, who fortuitously won the poll.

Obaro used his earlier attempt at the elective office to warm his way into peoples’ hearts. His issue based campaigns, accessibility, and unhidden desire to intervene in areas of need placed him in a class by himself. After the attempt, he went back to his business and eventually travelled abroad for further studies and in search of greener pastures. Even at that, he did not really disconnect from home, where he funded scholarships for many indigent students and improved the water infrastructure of several communities.

Observers of the Kogi Central race, however, have identified his place of birth and religion as unwritten undercurrents that may shape the discussions and work in his favour. At the heart of the matter is an alleged political marginalisation of certain groups in the zone and the need for redress.

Kogicentral, predominantly Ebira speaking, with a minority Oko people, is made up of three federal constituencies and five LGAs. They are Okene, Ogori-magongo, Okehi, Adavi, and Ajaokuta. The area has large adherents of Islam, Christianity, and traditional religions in various proportions.

There is a growing bitterness that most political offices are dominated by people from Okene LG at the detriment of the other areas.

Analysts are quick to point to Bello’s place of birth, Agassa in Okene LG and nearby Upogoro, in the same LG where the incumbent governor Usman Ododo hails from as an unassailable confirmation of the allegation. Those who hold this view argue that it will be unfair to the other LGAs for the governor and senator to come from the same place.

It is further argued that since Bello stepped into Lugard House, Okene has been the major beneficiary of government patronage in the central Senatorial zone of Kogi. For instance, they claim that Okene is in custody of major appointments in the state’s civil and public service. No less than 3 commissioners are from the LG in addition to juicy positions, notably Chief of Staff to the governor, Accountant-General, Head of Service, Auditor-General LG and over 700 other top appointments, while crumbs are left for the remaining four LGs to scramble for.

Worried by the discovery; in January, some APC stakeholders under the banner of Conscious Ebira Youths for Tinubu in a petition to its National Chairman demanded the exclusion of Okene indigenes from the 2027 senate race. The group noted that the party leadership in the zone had shown a retrogressive attitude by appointing 797 people from Okene LGA while the remaining four were marginalized.

Also key is the religion of the would be Senator. Since the return of the country to democracy in 1999, only Muslims have been elected as senators in the zone. Although the area is noted for its enviable religious tolerance level, people who preach inclusiveness in the zone are also rooting for a Christian representative. Obaro is a christian.

Will Obaro be able to harness these sentiments? Time will tell.