FEATURE: The Omole Factor — Why APC Stakeholders Are Betting on Chief Mrs. Toyin Omole for Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu
By Komolafe Ajayi – Kabba_
In the high-stakes chess game of Kogi West politics, the All Progressives Congress in Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency may have found the queen it needs to protect its king. Her name: Chief Mrs. Toyin Omole.
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At a strategic stakeholders’ meeting in Kabba held recently, party leaders and grassroots mobilizers reached a rare consensus. They described Omole as the aspirant “best positioned to secure victory” for the APC in the forthcoming polls. The pronouncement was not accidental. It came after weeks of quiet consultations, polling of wards, and a hard look at the electoral map that has haunted the APC since 2015.
For many in Kabba, Bunu, and Ijumu, Chief Mrs. Omole needs no introduction. Long before posters and political ambition, her name had become tied to interventions that touched daily life.
“Chief Mrs. Toyin Omole is not a stranger to our people,” said a party chieftain who spoke at the meeting. “Her interventions in education, health outreach, and support for widows have endeared her to the electorate. She is tested, trusted, and has the political structure to deliver for the APC.”
Supporters list the receipts: scholarship schemes that kept dozens of students in school, borehole projects that will end treks for water in parts of the constituency, and SME grants to market women across Ijumu. The pattern is clear — a footprint in all three LGAs that make up the federal constituency.
What the APC stakeholders are selling is not just philanthropy. It is electability. Omole “competence, loyalty, and a unifying bridge” the party needs to consolidate its hold on the constituency.
That “bridge” point matters in Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu, where politics often splits along old district lines and interest blocs. Omole, a businesswoman with roots and projects across the three axes, is being framed as a candidate who can collapse those divides into one voting bloc.
A women leader from Ijumu, pushed the argument further. “Her emergence will send a clear message that APC rewards service and believes in inclusive representation,” she said. Ajayi believes Omole’s candidacy would galvanize women and first-time voters — two demographics parties struggle to lock down in Kogi West.
Political analysts watching Kogi West understand the stakes. Since the advent of the All Progressives Congress in 2015, the Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu House of Representatives seat has been elusive for the ruling party.
One analyst who reviewed the constituency’s voting trends said fielding a candidate with “grassroots equity and minimal baggage” will be critical to retaining the seat. The same analyst went further: “Chief Mrs. Toyin Omole’s candidacy might be the only one to break the jinx of APC not winning the federal constituency since 2015.”
The word “jinx” was not used lightly. In three election cycles, the APC has seen the seat slip through its hands despite controlling the state. Party strategists blame candidate selection, poor grassroots penetration, and late campaigns.
Omole has formally declared her interest by purchasing the party nomination and show of interest forms few days ago. The drumbeat from stakeholders suggests the primaries will be less about introduction and more about consolidation. Her media team, when reached, maintained that she remains committed to the ideals of the APC and the development of Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu.
For now, the APC in the constituency is projecting unity around her name. Whether that holds when nomination forms are purchased is the next question. Primaries in Kogi West are rarely rancour-free.
The Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu seat is one of nine federal constituencies in Kogi State. But party insiders treat it as a bellwether. Win here, and the APC signals organizational strength in Okun land ahead of 2027. Lose it again, and opposition parties gain a talking point.
In that context, the “Omole Factor” is more than a local story. It is the APC testing if service, structure, and gender can rewrite a 10-year losing record.
The stakeholders have made their bet. The primaries will decide if the party follows through.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, MAY 4TH 2026)
