Kogi West for Governor: It’s Now or Never: Yagba Action Group Appeals to Tinubu to End 34-Year Exclusion
The Yagba Action Group (YAG), a socio-political organization comprising professionals and technocrats dedicated to the development, security, and welfare of the Yagba Federal Constituency in Kogi State, Nigeria, has thrown its weight behind the widespread agitation for the rotation of the governorship of Kogi State to the West Senatorial District at the end of Governor Usman Ododo’s current tenure.
Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, who hails from Kogi Central Senatorial District, succeeded his kinsman Yahaya Bello, who governed the state for eight years—from 2015 to 2023. Both men are from the same clan, in the same local government area, Okene, in Kogi Central.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, YAG, led by veteran journalist, former presidential aide and prolific author, Dr. Tunde Olusunle, said Kogi West Senatorial District is intensifying its call for a power shift to produce the next governor in 2027, driven by a longstanding sense of political marginalization. The group, known for its advocacy on infrastructure improvement, equity, and security, often partners with political representatives to advance its people-centred causes.
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“Since the creation of Kogi State in 1991, the governorship has been dominated by the Eastern and Central districts, with Kogi West—primarily the Okun/Lokoja-Kotonkarfe area—never holding the top seat. The main arguments for a Kogi West governorship in 2027 rest on fairness, equity, and justice,” the statement read.
The group argued that for the state to maintain unity and stability, the governorship must rotate. “Having allowed Kogi East approximately 16–18+ years and Kogi Central eight years under Bello, plus Ododo’s current tenure, 2027 is historically and morally the West’s turn. The 34-year imbalance means that the West has waited for over three decades, making 2027 the final, critical opportunity to correct this inequity before the status quo attains immoral permanence. Competence is not in question. Kogi West is abundantly endowed with talent, intellect, and professionalism. Kogi West possesses the finest leadership materials with the capacity to foster development and manage the state’s diversity.”
YAG expressed strong opposition to suggestions that Kogi West should tarry till 2031, so as to be availed a touted 16-year “turn-by-turn” opportunity, after Kogi Central might have been ingratiated a 16-year run.
“By YAG’s estimation, this is nothing but a grand deception and a grand ploy to entrench power in the Central district,” the statement declared.
The group called on the leadership of all political parties in Nigeria—with a special appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to consider arrangements that will lead to the zoning of governorship tickets to Kogi West ahead of the 2027 general elections.
YAG praised Senator Sunday Karimi, representing Kogi West, for standing out as the leading advocate for power rotation to the zone in 2027. The group equally appealed to all well-meaning political leaders in Kogi West and the two other senatorial districts to align with its position on the power shift to Kogi West in 2027.
Addressing the argument that politics is a game of numbers, the statement recalled that during the era of the old Kwara State, despite being minorities, the political leadership ensured that all sections of the state were given equal opportunity to produce the governor. It cited Adamu Atta, an Ebira; Cornelius Adebayo, an Igbomina; Shaaba Lafiaji, a Nupe; and Mohammed Lawal and Bukola Saraki from the dominant Ilorin axis—all of whom served as governors at various times. Between the dominant Ilorin bloc, the current Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq also emerged, alongside a previous governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, from the minority axis.
For emphasis, the statement noted that in the case of Kogi State, the Okun—Yoruba-speaking axis of Kogi West—is a majority Yoruba tribe not only in Kogi State but in Nigeria.
The group concluded with an urgent appeal to President Tinubu to address what it described as the injustice of 2015, and support the realization of Kogi West’s long-deferred aspiration for executive leadership in the state.
It recalled that “whereas Hon James Abiodun Faleke, an Okun, won the governorship on a joint ticket with the APC candidate, the late Prince Abubakar Audu, he was was denied, following the death of Audu who already had unassailable lead in the number of votes counted. For some inexplicable reason, INECdeclared the election inconclusive and ordered for a supplementary election in 91 voting units across the state. INEC allowed the APC to substitute the late Audu with Alhaji Yahaya Bello who came second in the APC primaries. Bello went into the supplementary election without a running mate since Faleke declined to play that role, contending that he should rightly be declared the winner of the election and that the supplementary election was superfluous as Abubakar Audu had won at the first ballot.”
YAG noted that this incident deepened the sense of marginalization in the zone and remains an unresolved moral and political question in the state’s history. It therefore appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as a leader known for fairness, political wisdom, and respect for equity, to intervene decisively by supporting the zoning of the Kogi State governorship to Kogi West in 2027. According to the group, such an action would not only correct a long-standing injustice but also strengthen unity, trust, and democratic balance in Kogi State, reaffirming the principle that no section of the federation should remain perpetually excluded from power.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, FEBRUARY 4TH 2026)
