The Kogi West Elders’ Forum (KWEF), a socio-cultural group comprising of leading personalities and opinion leaders of the Kogi West senatorial district, has called for the rotation the governorship position among the three senatorial districts, to address the prevailing political imbalance in the Confluence State.
A statement by its chairman, Gen. David Jemibewon (rtd), decried the domination of the governorship by two senatorial districts, Kogi Central and Kogi East. He said the skewed political power play has denied the people of Kogi West district the opportunity to produce the governor since the creation of the state in 1991, despite their active participation in previous elections.
Jemibewon said Kogi Central and Kogi East have occupied the governorship seat for about 21 years now and 25 years by the time Governor Yahya Bello leaves office in 2023. The statement urged political parties to consider candidates from Kogi West during the next general elections in 2023.
In the light of the above, the group stated as follows: “We reject running mates in all political parties. That Governor Yahaya Bello and all political actors in the state should take conscious note of this demand and support every arrangement that will meet the aspiration. That all political parties in the Kogi West district must endeavour to work together to stimulate actions that would produce credible candidate(s) leading to their state primary elections in the state.
“All political parties in this regard must, however, align with Kogi East and Kogi Central districts to accomplish the objective by working to produce a governorship candidate that will be acceptable to all the flanks of the state in the 2023 governorship election. That the forum wishes to remind his Excellency of our unalloyed support during the last election when we made a public statement that endorsed his re-election based on our insight that he was a democrat, courageous and would honour our modest agitation for power rotation in the state.
“That as an aspiring president of Nigeria, the governor needs to more than ever before, demonstrate his support for an enduring power-sharing arrangement at the grassroots level in Kogi State and then Nigeria as widely canvassed by all critical and discerning minds in Nigeria. This demonstration will show the infallible strength of good character and integrity he poses to lead a multi-ethnic nation like Nigeria. That the Kogi West district has embellished numbers of qualified candidates that understand the need for good governance that will benefit every part of the state.”
