By Amuda Dan Sulaiman Fab
As agitations on which senatorial district produces the next Governor of Kogi State to succeed Yahaya Bello rages, a group, Kogi West Women In Politics says the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, should zone its governorship slot to Kogi West “for the sake of justice and fairness”.
Addressing a press conference at the NUJ Press Center in Lokoja on Thursday, the convener of the group, Mrs Titi Omotola, said the voting pattern of Kogites may largely tilt towards where political parties zone their governorship candidates in the forthcoming election.
Omotola said the current political and security situation in the state required that power should shift to the Kogi West.
The group argued that since the East and Central has had their ‘fair’ share of the state’s leadership for the past twenty four years, it’s only fair to zone the governorship to the Western senatorial district of the state for the next political dispensation.
While finalizing plans to stage a mass rally in Lokoja, to drive home their position, the group noted that since the creation of Kogi State, Kogi East had ruled for 16 years while at the expiration of the second term of governor Yahaya Bello, Kogi Central would have ruled for 8 years and Kogi West has not ruled for once.
She said it is worrisome how most political parties are playing down the zoning arrangement with a sentiment of selfishness.
The group said, “We have also noticed how unstable and highly political most of our political parties are responding to the call for power rotation, this has made us come together to lend our voice to the voice of reasoning, the voice of unified Kogi and greater Nigeria by urging the APC to zone Governorship seat to Kogi West.
On her own part, one of the leaders of the group, Hajiya Kudirat Abdulrahim said: “There is no superior argument for this at times like this in the annal of our history because there is no doubt that the East and Central have had their fair share of the state leadership for the past twenty four years and now it is time to zone the Governorship to the Western senatorial district of the state at this point of our history as a state.
“Political gladiators across the divide have taken up arms and fight via exchange of words on power rotation. Some want it to remain in the Central zone, while others want it shifted to the Western zone for equality’s sake.
”While we know power is not given on a platter of gold, we will deploy our structures across the state and within the various parties to further project the call and agitation to save the soul of the state,” she added.
