A pressure group from the Western Senatorial District of Kogi State, under the aegis of Kogi West Vision Initiatives, has declared support for the retention of the state governorship position in the central senatorial district in what they described as the spirit of “EBIGO agenda.”
EBIGO is an acronym for EBIRA, IGALA and OKUN. This is what EBIGO stands for. The EBIGO Agenda should come in form of 16/16/16. This is equity, justice and fairness.
The support was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Lokoja on Wednesday signed by the President and Secretary General of the group, Chief Babajide Olorunmaiye and Arch. Oluwasegun Thomas respectively.
The group charged the people of Kogi West senatorial district to support the efforts of Governor Yahaya Bello to institutionalize equity, justice and fairness in the governance of the state.
According to the statement, the Igalas ethnic group has occupied the governorship position for sixteen years, noting that the entire state since 2016 have been supporting the Ebiras to equally complete their own sixteen years, saying after the turn of Ebiras, power would then shift to the western senatorial district (Okun) who will also hold sway for sixteen years.
“We in Kogi West Vision Initiatives aligned with the recent position of the Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Matthew Kolawole on the need to allow an Ebira successor of Governor Yahaya Bello so as to enable the central senatorial district complete their fair share of EBIGO Agenda” the statement said.
The group commended governor Yahaya Bello for the ongoing execution of projects aimed at developing the state.
ebirareporters.com recalls that towing same line of advocacy, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly had stired reactions after he told Governor Yahaya Bello to handover to another Ebira man.
The governor, continuing his consultation with All Progressive Congress stakeholders and leaders in the state, had invited all the political office holders and appointees to address them on the need to deliver all the candidates of the party including the president in the forthcoming election.
When the Speaker was called to respond on behalf of the appointees he stood up and eulogised the governor and his achiements, saying Kogi has never had so good and then bowed before the governor to beg him to bring his successor from his among his kinsmen
“Your Excellency, you have done what no governor has done before in terms of achievements and touching of lives of the people, if I begin to outline your achievements we may not leave here today and think the chairman that spoke before me has done justice to that,” he stated.
“In Kogi West senatorial district especially you have done marvelously; you built the first flyover bridge at Ganaja junction, Lokoja, in Kabba town, which is the headquarters of the district, when Adamu Attah, an Ebira, was governor, he built the Kabba-Okene road. Your Excellency too an Ebiraman also constructed the kabba town ship road, we have never had it so good.
“I will, therefore, [bowing down] plead with your Excellency to bring someone among your kinsmen in your senatorial district to be your successor in 2023 so that he may continue the good works you have done.”
This elicited serious emotion which caused a no small stir as the audience began to boo him calling him all sorts of names and ordered him to sit down if he had no better things to say.
The whole hall became so rowdy that police men and other security agents had to be called in to appeal to the people to calm down.
