The Kogi West Elders Forum (KWEF) has adopted Mr Leke Abejide of African Democratic Party (ADC) as their consensus candidate for the Nov. 11, Kogi Governorship Election.
The forum made this position known in a communiqué of the endorsement signed by its Chairman, retired Maj.-Gen. David Jemibewon, and read by the Secretary, Dr Tunde Arosanyin, on Monday in Abuja.
The forum, however, said it was not unaware of the pending case at the Supreme Court instituted by one of their sons, Sen. Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressive Congress (APC) against the party’s primaries.
They said the forum could revisit the endorsement should the case favours Adeyemi to be able to carry everyone along.
Reading the communique, Arosanyin said it had become necessary to elucidate the approach of KWEF and how the forum had interceded to endorse a consensus candidate for the West Senatorial District in the forthcoming governorship election.
He said the forum had hitherto, agitated for power to rotate to the west since 2019, adding that the agitation was considered legitimate, reasonable, fair and in the interest of peace, equity, and justice in the state.
This, according to him, is because the district has been ‘shortchanged’ from the power-sharing arrangement to occupy the exalted office of the Executive Governor of the state since its creation in 1991.
The secretary said the elders had worked with other groups like the Okun Development Association (ODA) and Okun Think Thank (OTT) with similar objectives and reinvigorated the mechanism for the demand immediately after INEC released the timetable for the election in early 2023.
According to him, the forum consulted with critical stakeholders in the state and drew the public’s attention to the imbalance in the occupation of the office of the executive governor.
“At the same time, it called for correction by supporting a candidate from the West to win the election.
“To achieve this, the KWEF engaged with stakeholders in the state through its Contact and Mobilization Committee.
“The first critical stakeholder to be contacted was the incumbent governor, His Excellency Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello, whom the KWEF met several times between 2019-23 to plead for support in the legitimate demand.
“KWEF is aware that some other stakeholders from Kogi West Senatorial District made similar visit during the same period.
“The forum consulted further with other stakeholders, especially the prominent political actors in the various parties.
“The Forum and its affiliate groups subsequently visited the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. His Excellency President Bola Tinubu, in August to advance this cause and called for support of the Presidency towards a candidate from the Western Senatorial District as governor of the state.
The forum believed this was in line with the ongoing democratic demand of many people, tribes, and regions in the country who have been denied a rotation of power.
“The responses the forum got from the Presidency reinforced our position that there was a need for the West to build the rank with the other two senatorial districts of East and Central to gain power in Kogi,” he said.