Ododo’s Endorsement Drive Breaches APC Rules and Threatens the Party’s Hold on Kogi

This statement is issued in the interest of party discipline, electoral viability, and the preservation of internal democracy within the APC.

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The Kogi APC Conscience Group considers it necessary, at this critical moment, to address developments within the All Progressives Congress APC in Kogi State that have moved beyond routine internal contestation. These developments now raise fundamental questions about candidate credibility, respect for established political structures, and the strategic judgment required to retain competitive advantage at the senatorial level.

The emerging pattern across Kogi West and Kogi East is no longer a matter of isolated concern. It reflects a growing sentiment within party ranks and among stakeholders that the integrity of the candidate selection process must be preserved. Political stability and electoral success are not sustained by control, but by legitimacy.

This position draws on developments already in the public domain and verifiable engagements within party structures.

Kogi West and Kogi East must therefore be allowed to determine their candidates through established party mechanisms. Internal democracy is not a procedural luxury. It is the foundation upon which electoral credibility rests.

Within party circles, it is widely understood that former Governor Yahaya Bello has advised that caution be exercised regarding certain aspirants in light of the potential electoral implications for the party. That position reflects a recognition of the strategic risks associated with candidate selection in a highly scrutinised political environment.

Reports already in the public domain have also drawn attention to the 2014 petroleum subsidy matter involving a company linked to Hon. Otunba Samuel Bamidele Aro, including legal proceedings and undertakings that remain subjects of public discussion. In contemporary electoral politics, perception is a decisive variable. Candidates with unresolved reputational questions do not only defend themselves. They compel the party to defend them, often at significant cost.

Fielding a candidate under such conditions introduces avoidable vulnerability into what would otherwise be a competitive political space. It is not a neutral decision. It is a strategic risk.

At the same time, there are indications that Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has called on Hon. Samuel Bamidele Aro continues his senatorial aspiration while efforts are being made to address concerns within party structures at the national level. There are also reports that the Governor is considering additional options, including his Commissioner for Environment, Mr Joseph, addressed as Engr Joseph, who is reported to be from Kwara State and whose political engagement within Kogi State is relatively recent and associated with developments during the tenure of former Governor Yahaya Bello

More significantly, concerns about internal control of the candidate selection process have deepened.

It is understood that, in an address to the House of Assembly and House of Representatives aspirants from Kogi Central, the Governor directed that aspirants should not obtain nomination forms individually. According to this directive, a single decision would be made for each constituency on the approved candidate, with the intention that aspirants remain aligned with the leadership of the state. It was further indicated that only one nomination form would be obtained for each seat.

From the standpoint of the Kogi APC Conscience Group, this position r aises fundamental concerns.

It replaces competition with selection.
It substitutes participation with compliance.
It narrows the space for internal contestation.

In effect, it introduces a model of candidate emergence that is inconsistent with the directive of the National Headquarters, which requires aspirants to approach the party independently to obtain nomination forms. That national framework is designed to preserve openness, fairness, and internal credibility.

The divergence between these two approaches is not merely procedural. It is strategic.

If aspirants cannot independently access the basic instruments of participation, then the foundation of internal democracy is weakened before the process begins. Where internal legitimacy is compromised, electoral outcomes become uncertain.

The question before the party is therefore clear.

Why assume avoidable risk in constituencies where electoral strength already exists?

Why introduce internal strain where cohesion is required?

Why substitute established political structures with centrally determined outcomes?

This is not strategy. It is avoidable political risk.

The implications of these developments extend beyond routine internal contestation. Taken together, they create a pattern in which endorsement signals, restrictions on aspirant participation, and the positioning of alternative entrants converge to narrow the field of competition. In practical terms, such a pattern places disproportionate pressure on a sitting senator with an established record and constituency alignment. Whether intended or not, the effect is to introduce avoidable instability into a political space that has remained competitively secure for the party.

At a time when continuity, credibility, and electoral strength should be consolidated, any process that appears to undermine a performing incumbent raises legitimate strategic concerns. Political transitions are best managed through transparent, competitive processes, not through signals that suggest predetermined outcomes.

The Kogi APC Conscience Group therefore states its position with clarity.

Kogi West and Kogi East must determine their candidates without imposition.

Not by influence.
Not by pressure.
Not by predetermined outcomes.

Matters already in the public domain should be left to the appropriate institutions to address in accordance with due process.

The APC’s strength lies in credibility, discipline, and internal cohesion. These are not abstract values. They are operational requirements for electoral success.

The National Working Committee must uphold its own guidelines without exception. Any deviation at the state level that undermines internal democracy must be corrected in the interest of the party’s credibility and electoral viability.

The integrity of the APC’s nomination process is a national standard and must be applied uniformly across all states without exception.

For the record, the Kogi APC Conscience Group relies on information already in the public domain and developments within party structures. Where necessary, relevant authorities remain best positioned to verify and act in line with due process.

The party now stands at a point of strategic choice.

It must choose between discipline and convenience. It cannot sustain both.

The party must act now to preserve what it can still win.

Because in politics, imposition carries a cost.
And that cost is paid at the ballot box.

Issued by the Kogi APC Conscience Group.

Signed:
Mr. Olufemi Babalola
Convener.

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