One of the aspirants vying for the Adavi/Okehi House of Representative seat, Kabiru Onimisi Atta has uncovered plans by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi state to forcefully impose a flagbearer for the party.
Mr. Atta warned that forcing a candidate against the wishes of the masses will be met with repercussions.
The aspirant who posted on his Facebook page about the outcome of a stakeholder he attended, noted that the leadership the party in the meeting informed them that the government already has a candidate in mind.
Part of his post said that “in recent times, we were told that His Excellency Usman Ododo set up a stakeholder committee to look into the zoning of the seat among the clan heads in Adavi, I must commend his excellency for that bold step. Fortunately, the committee’s submission zoned the seat to the Aniku-Ozidu clan.
“But to my surprise, when a stakeholders’ meeting was summoned by the clan elders and some stakeholders within the Aniku clan, we were told by the Adavi APC party chairman Hon Barnabas seconded by counselor Hon. Maridiya that orders from above meant the government already has a candidate in mind (the meeting was recorded for future reference).
“I would have thought that if you zone something to a particular clan, the elders, youth, and others should independently be given the opportunity to freely come up with modalities for selecting their candidate. But no all aspirants were simply gathered to be informed.
“The thing is, several people in my inbox and on phone conversations had predicted this would happen, but I thought let’s give them a chance to do the right thing, create a fair level playing field for all aspirants. When you hand over Adavi LGA to the hands of one person, you see a well-orchestrated plan to lead the party to failure.
“There are consequences for every injustice (reference 2023 Adavi/Okehi Rep election). Fielding or forcing a candidate in an unfair manner, without carrying the masses along, will have its repercussions. Read the handwriting on the wall the game has changed. Pay attention to the tone across the country. If you aren’t fielding your best 11 that can help you win back the hearts and mind of the people, reassuring confidence that you have the people at heart, then you’re planning to fail. The people are watching.”
