Created in 1991, Kogi state with its rich political history is once again the cynosure of the country as its people again take another bold step to elect who will govern them for the next four years as constitutional democracy stabilises. The contest is a direct power struggle between Prince Abubakar Audu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and incumbent governor of Kogi state as well as gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Captain Idris Wada.
The political power tussle is over who occupies the Lord Lugard Government House for the next four years.
Today’s epoch-making day is the grand finale of months of intense campaigns and traversing of the nooks and crannies of Kogi state by both aspirants and candidates who indicated interest in the plumb job of Kogi state governor.
It is important to stress that prior to primaries of the two leading political parties in Kogi state, both APC and PDP were star-studded by parading very high profile aspirants. On the APC list of aspirants included Senators Nicholas Ugbane, Alex Kadiri and the current minister of state for Labour, James Ocholi, SAN and many others, which was not unconnected with the victory of the party in the state during the 2015 National Assembly and State Assembly elections in the state, particularly that the APC won 23 out of the 25 state Assembly seats.
One interesting thing about the Kogi elections is any of the two leading candidates (APC and PDP) who would be declared winner of today’s governorship elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in kogi state, to occupy the Lord Lugard House will only govern for one term having spent a term each as governor of the state at different dispensations, since advent of democratic rule in Nigeria in 1999.
For the records, the APC candidate was governor of the state between 1999 and 2003, on the platform of the then All Peoples Party (APP) but, lost a second term bid to Alhaji Ibrahim Ibro of the PDP in 2003, while the People’s Democratic Party, PDP candidate and incumbent governor of the state, Captain Idris Wada, on another hand, was first elected in 2011, the good news is perhaps the fact that both Audu and Wada are both politically matured and of the yearnings and aspirations of the people.
Suffice it to say that the campaigns between the two front runners were intense and characterised by the usual mudslinging associated with Nigerian politics, which makes politics a dirty game in Nigeria, the hate speech and messages were not left out.
However, the advantage that the people of Kogi state would leverage on today, as they file out to elect a new governor for the state is that each of the two top candidates have antecedents that would speak for them. Analysts have argued that, with the security measures assured by the Nigerian Police Force and support from other sister agencies, Kogi people will only need the ballot papers to sack or retain, reject or accept either of the contending parties.
The campaigns and the build up activities prior to today’s elections by both the APC and the PDP were less of issues, but more of character assassination and blackmail.
particularly the PDP, but ultimately both held on to very strong positions during their campaign to attract votes and gain sympathy of the electorates. Whether their stories were bought as they mounted the soap box to sell themselves or not, would be manifest today, as the voice of the majority is expected to triumph.
Captain Idris Wada’s main campaign strategy: The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP candidate for today’s governorship elections, Captain Wada identified three main strategies he felt could reduce the popularity of his main challenger, Price Audu and, that includes the alleged corruption charges against him during his tenure as governor of the state between 1999 and 2003, the party equally did not leave out a blackmail strategy of accusing federal government of undue interference and deliberately denying the state her own share of the Federal Government’s bail out of distressed states through the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN for the main purpose of payment of outstanding worker’s salaries and allowances that virtually all the states of the federation were faced with, due to the fall in the prices of crude oil in the international market during the last six months of the Jonathan administration. They equally accused the APC candidate of arrogance and inhuman treatment tendencies.
The PDP in Kogi state was of the strong view that the allegations of corruption leveled against the APC candidate were enough grounds for the people of Kogi to reject him through the ballot as they go to the polls today.
It is important to stress that the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC had on March 18th, 2013 arraigned the APC candidate, Prince Audu before the Justice A.O Adeniyi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on a 36-count charge bothering o criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of N10,965,837,040 (Ten Billion , Nine hundred and Sixty-Five Thousand, Eight Hundred and Thirty Seven Naira, Fourty Kobo).
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to him, a situation that triggered the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN to request for a date for the commencement of trial of the accused.
This development, which the PDP candidate and the party lashed onto and, sufficiently used as campaign strategy to discredit the APC candidate twelve years after he left power. Analysts have argued however, that the inability of the previous administration to investigate and deal with the allegations of corruption against the APC candidate using the judicial process twelve years after he left office was not enough reasons to prevent him from pursuing his political ambition. They stress also that it could not have being the fault of the APC candidate that the charges are still pending before the EFCC, therefore to resurrect the allegations now and use them as campaign weapons to stop the candidate can only happen in a jungle but certainly not among decent societies governed by a constitution that guarantees freedom of its citizens in very many ways, including the right to aspire for elective positions.
The candidate of the PDP equally accused his main challenger in today’s elections of connivance with the federal government to pitch the state civil servants who are currently being owned salaries and allowances for months against the state government by refusing to release the state’s share of the bail out.
The PDP in kogi state have also accused the APC candidate of high handedness and sheer arrogance during his first tenure as governor of the state, according to them, Prince Audu’s high horse defies every logic, which according to them, amounts to absolute dictatorship, therefore should not be rewarded with a second term in office as governor and chief security officer of the state.
Prince Abubakar Audu’s campaign strategy: On his part, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC and former governor of the state, Prince Abubakar Audu held on to the notion that the incumbent governor of the state has performed below expectations and should be sent packing by the electorates.
He equally accuses Wada of the PDP of high level illegality and impunity, such that runs contrary to all known standards and laws.
(Leadership.ng)
No comments:
Post a Comment