Okun Leaders League Calls on Traditional Rulers to Avoid Partisan Politics
— Warns Against Moves to Endorse Governor Ododo’s Second Term Bid
The Okun Leaders League (OLL), a prominent sociopolitical advocacy group in Kogi State, has cautioned traditional rulers across Okunland against engaging in partisan politics or lending royal endorsement to any political candidate ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
In a statement signed by six of its prominent members — Group Captain Denja Mahmud (rtd), Canon Andrew Baiyekuhi, Mallam Qassim Yusuf, Dr. James Ogbondeminu, Engineer Omobowale Palufe, and Chief Samuel Obaro — the League expressed concern over a reported meeting scheduled between Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo and the Okun Traditional Council in Kabba, purportedly aimed at securing royal support for the governor’s second-term ambition.
According to the OLL, information reaching it indicates that the governor’s camp plans to offer the position of Deputy Governor to Okunland as part of a political bargain for endorsement. The group, however, described the move as an attempt to “hoodwink, cajole, and undermine the collective intelligence of our people.”
“Okun traditional rulers must reject anything and everything that will set them up against their people,” the statement declared. “They are custodians of our customs and traditions and must remain apolitical, no matter the level of inducement or intimidation.”
The OLL decried what it described as a long-standing political imbalance in Kogi State, noting that since the state’s creation in 1991 and the return of democracy in 1999, no person of Okun extraction has ever held the office of Governor.
By 2027, the League pointed out, the Igala ethnic group would have ruled Kogi for 16 years, while the Ebira would have completed 12 years in power — a combined 28 years of leadership shared between the two major blocs. In contrast, Okunland, which the group described as “the third leg of Kogi’s sociopolitical tripod,” has remained on the sidelines, only producing deputy governors who, according to the statement, have been “toothless, powerless, and incapable of bringing home the dividends of democracy.”
Quoting reggae legend Bob Marley, the OLL lamented that the Okun people had “been trampled upon for far too long,” stressing that they would no longer accept “patronising offers” or “denigrating offices” designed to pacify them.
“Our numbers and support have been leveraged in the past to raise governors in Kogi State,” the League stated. “Okun people reject any attempt to insult and patronise us with the position of Deputy Governor. Anyone who accepts such an offer for self-gratification does so at his or her own peril.”
The statement concluded with a passionate appeal to traditional rulers to uphold the dignity of their thrones and the collective aspiration of their people for equity and justice in Kogi State’s political landscape.
The statement reads in full:
PRESS STATEMENT:
RESIST POLITICAL PARISANSHIP, OKUN LEADERS LEAGUE ADVISES OBAS
It has come to the attention of the *Okun Leaders League,* (OLL), that a meeting has reportedly been scheduled between the Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Ododo and the Okun Traditional Council, for Friday October 31, 2025. The said meeting which is purported for Kabba, headquarters of Kabba-Bunu council area, is intended to seek the endorsement of the Okun traditional institution for a second term for Ododo, come 2027.
Information at the disposal of OLL, suggests that Okunland will be baited with the position of Deputy Governor on the Ododo ticket for the 2027 gubernatorial poll. The aim is to effectively extinguish the aspirations of the good people of Okunland for the governorship office which has serially eluded them in the 34 year history of Kogi State, but more currently since the beginning of the Fourth Republic 26 years ago.
To refresh our collective memories, by 2027, the Igala ethnicity in Kogi East would have held the office of Kogi State Governor for 16 years post-1999, while the Ebiras would have held the same position for 12 years. History reminds us that in the Second Republic in the old Kwara State, Alhaji Adamu Atta from Ebiraland served as Governor for four years between 1979 and 1983. In Nigeria’s Third Republic, Prince Abubakar Audu served as Kogi State Governor for two years. When these figures are added, it sums up that while the Igala ethnic group has held the office of Governor for 18 years, the Ebiras would have occupied the same office for 16 years by 2027.
In this curious leadership statistics in Kogi State, the Okun nationality which is supposed to be the third leg of the sociopolitical tripod in Kogi State, has been utterly relegated in the governance scheme. On two occasions between 1992 and 1993, and between 2012 and 2016, Okun sons have served as Deputy Governor of Kogi State. In Nigeria’s political system, we know too well that deputies are nothing but dispensable “spare tyres” who breathe and function at the sole discretion of their principals. They are toothless, powerless and incapable of bringing home the dividends of growth and progress which we all crave in a democracy.
*Okun Leaders League* therefore calls upon our royal fathers to resist consenting to any arrangement calculated to hoodwink, cajole and undermine the collective intelligence of our people. Much as they are appointees of the state government, they are primarily custodians of our customs and traditions who are expected to be totally non-partisan and apolitical. Okun traditional rulers must reject anything and everything that will set them up against their people, irrespective of the level of material inducement or intimidation which has characterised godfather politics in Kogi State within the past decade.
Our numbers and support have been leveraged in the past to raise governors in Kogi State. Since the unbroken run of democratic rule in 1999, Kogi State has produced five governors and not one has been from Okunland. To borrow from the evergreen lyrics of the iconic reggae artist Bob Marley, “we’ve been trampled upon for far too long.” Okun people reject any attempt to insult and patronise us with the position of Deputy Governor. We must warn that any individual or group of individuals who accept any denigrating office for self gratification, purportedly on behalf of the Okun nation straddling Lokoja, Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu, Mopamuro, Yagba East and Yagba West, does so at his or her own peril.
UNDER THE SEAL OF:
● Group Captain Denja Mahmud (rtd)
Oworo, Lokoja
● Canon Andrew Baiyekuhi
Kabba-Bunu
● Mallam Qassim Yusuf
Ijumu
● Dr James Ogbondeminu
Mopamuro
● Engineer Omobowale Palufe
Yagba East
● Chief Samuel Obaro
Yagba West
