Ahead of 11 November, 2023 gubernatorial election in Kogi State, north central Nigeria, a socio-political group, Araga Team for Ododo has insisted that the governorship candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Ododo Ahmed Usman (OAU) remains the best man to succeed the incumbent governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
Members of Araga Team were visibly on ground to receive Alhaji Ododo who was in Lagos on Sunday for an interactive session with Kogi indigenes/stakeholders in Lagos at the Providence Hotel, GRA, Ikeja.
Speaking with newsmen, President of Araga Team for Ododo, Alhaji Musa Audu was emphatical that Ododo possesses that rare leadership qualities to stir the ship of Kogi State after Bello might have left office, adding that “we all know who Alhaji Ododo Ahmed Usman is. He is a fine gentleman, who is humble and has listening ears. He is hard working and academically and intelligently sound.
“He has been accepted by everybody. Our hope is that his coming in on 11 November will make the state move forward and the technocrats around will make impacts for the progress of the state.
“We are living witnesses to what Governor Yahaya Bello has done in the past eight years in Kogi State, and we believe that the campaign will be very easy because the incumbent government is leaving legacies for Ododo to build on,” Araga Team for Ododo’s president said.
To the Vice President of the Team, Alhaji Afolabi Abdulazeez, it is in the imagination of the rumour peddlers that a section of the state was marginalize to pave way for the emergence of Ododo as the APC gubernatorial candidate, adding that the incumbent governor, Yahaya Bello placed high premium in uniting the people of the state in his eight years in office, “and I think those talking about marginalization are saying this in their imagination.
“We all see the composition of people who attended the interactive session Alhaji Ododo Ahmed Usman had with Kogi Indigenes/stakeholders in Lagos. This event brought together the Okuns, the Igallas and everybody under one roof with one voice that the candidate of APC is the best to succeed Governor Yahaya Bello.
“Governor Bello has been able to unify the people of Kogi State in the last eight years and the incoming governor is going to consolidate on that effort.. Marginalization is just a hearsay, and I must confess, we have never had it so good in term of unity in our state under any government like we are having in the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello,” the vice president of Araga for Ododo Team said.
He, however, disclosed that the Team would mobilise for APC and its candidate for the 11 November election in Kogi State.
“The Team has a lot of our members in Lagos state and a lot are spread across the nooks and crannies of Kogi State. We are at the grassroots and we are more than ready to do it for Alhaji Ododo Ahmed Usman.
