The people of Kogi State have been asked to provide the opportunity for the consolidation of the outstanding dividends of democracy that have been visibly provided by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, by voting for the candidate of the party, Usman Ododo, in the November 11 governorship election.
The National Campaign Council for the Kogi State governorship election urged Kogites not to vote for strangers whose stock-in-trade was propaganda but sustain the trajectory of development in Kogi State by voting en masse for the APC.
Members of the National Campaign Council gave the charge at the official flag-off of the Kogi State APC governorship campaign and the official presentation of flag to the candidate of the party, Usman Ododo, in Lokoja, on Sunday.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the event, expressed the optimism that the APC would win the November 11 governorship election resoundingly, assuring the people of the State that they were about to vote in a man with the intellectual capacity to consolidate on the many achievements of Governor Yahaya Bello.
He said the President had just approved funds for the construction of Ganaja Road, adding that the Abuja-Lokoja-Okene Road and Kabba-Ilorin Road would also receive the Federal Government’s attention very soon.
The VP said, “For us to build on the legacy and for the purpose of continuity and consolidation, it becomes imperative for the people of Kogi State to align themselves with the power at the centre.
“President Tinubu is a man of courage and conviction, he is a man pregnant with ideas on how to reposition the nation, but Kogi, which is one of the frontiers of the North, Kogi, the Confluence State, cannot afford to have a state government that does not belong to the power at the centre.
“For the people of Kogi State to benefit immensely from the eight-point agenda of Pesident Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for the people of Kogi State to benefit from the natural resources, it is absolutely essential that we should vote for a much more patriotic person who is grounded with the reality in Kogi State.
“Most important to the people of Kogi State is the Ajaokuta Steel Company that is the largest steel industry in the country. The President appointed a son of Kogi State from one of the prominent families in the state, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, to be the Minister of Steel Development. Fundamentally, he was given the appointment to promote, project and preserve the interest of the people of Kogi State to see to the realisation of the Ajaokuta Steel Company, which of course, is 98 per cent completed.
“The Ajaokuta steel company will help the Federal Government to fulfill the eight-point agenda of President Tinubu’s administration with respect to job creation, huge investment and revenue generation.
“Ajaokuta steel company has the potential to generate over 500,000 jobs once Ajaokuta is designated as an industrial zone.
“The youth want jobs, better education and good life. You are better off if you follow the man who knows road, therefore give your votes to APC, give your votes to Usman Ahmed Ododo. This is a young man who can deliver the desired dividend of democracy to you,” Shettima stated.
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, who is the chairman of the APC National Campaign Council for Kogi State Governorship Election, insisted that APC was the only party in the State and urged the people not to make the mistake of not consolidating on visible gains, ensuring the continuity of good governance and aligning with the party in the centre.
He said, “I urge you to vote for consolidation by voting for the APC Governorship Candidate to enable him build on security, infrastructure, education and several other visible achievements of Governor Yahaya Bello.
“The APC will sustain the trajectory of development in Kogi State. Don’t vote for strangers. Get your PVC and vote for the APC. In Kogi State, we have only one party and that is the APC,” he said.
Governor Abiodun used the opportunity to welcome the thousands of defectors from opposition parties, who had just declared on Sunday for the APC, saying they had taken the best decision to stay with the winning train in the interest of the state’s sustained development.
The defectors were from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Accord Party and the African Democratic Congress (ADC), among others.
The Campaign Council chairman maintained that, with the massive defection into the APC from the opposition political parties, it was clear that Ododo would emerge victorious.
The National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, called for the unity of APC members in the coming governorship election and urged the people of the state to shun ethnicity, stressing that what everyone should look forward to is the victory party for the APC.
“Without mincing words. The only party in Kogi is the APC. We have all it takes to mobilise massively for the APC Governorship Candidate.
I’m looking forward to a victory party because we parade the best candidate who has uniting the people as his priority. Let’s shun tribalism and ethnicity,” Ganduje stated.
For his part, Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello said he thanked God that he had been able to place the State on the path of sustained development.
“Within the period of service to the people of the State, I have built and improved infrastructure, security, and recently made education in the state free at all levels in public, primary and secondary schools. I’m proud to state that we are leaving Kogi State better than we met it for those that will govern after us,” he said.
“Without exaggeration, APC will win the November 11 Governorship election, landslide. This is because our work, achievements and our party will speak for us. Kogi is APC and APC is Kogi State,” he added.
In his remarks, the governorship candidate, Ododo, promised to build on the outstanding achievements of Governor Bello, assuring the people that, if elected, their welfare would be his administration’s priority.
“I’m promising more youth and women inclusiveness in governance. My agenda for the State is Kogi Agenda. I will not disappoint our leader and father, President Bola Tinubu; I will not disappoint my mentor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello; I will not disappoint our party and I will not disappoint the good people of Kogi State. We will consolidate on the achievements of my leader in the state and strive towards continuity and sustainability in the areas of security, education, agriculture, and improved infrastructure, amongst several areas the APC administration has made a mark,” he said.
He concluded that his mandate would be for the overall development of the State, stressing the improvement in the achievements of Governor Bello and in the wellbeing of his people as his priority.
The Muhammadu Buhari Civic Centre, Lokoja, one of the sterling achievements of Governor Bello, could not contain the crowd that struggled to witness the historic inauguration of the APC Governorship Campaign and presentation of flag to the candidate of the party, Usman Ododo.
As early as 9am, supporters, clad in different uniforms to distinguish their groups, as well as stakeholders from all the 21 Local Government Areas of the state, trooped along the streets towards the Civic Centre in a way that suggested that a huge carnival was about to take place in the Confluence State.