Ahmed Usman Ododo

Ahmed Usman Ododo, is the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the November 11 governorship election in Kogi State. In this interview, he speaks on factors likely to determine the chances of the ruling party against the opposition in the election, among other issues.

What informed your aspiration to succeed your boss, Governor Yahaya Bello?

Service to humanity is the number one motivation. I was brought up by my grandmother who taught me service to humanity. I also served Kogi State under the leadership of my boss, mentor and leader, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, who further showed me, in practical terms, how to serve humanity using the platform of government. Service is my galvanizing motivation.
Secondly, the amazing opportunity to succeed an enigmatic leader like GYB (Governor Yahaya Bello) is also a driving factor. He is incontestably the best governor to have governed our dear state. It will be an honour to be the one to continue and consolidate on his beautiful legacies.

Do you think you have garnered enough experience to govern an intricate state like Kogi?

Kogi isn’t difficult to govern. We were made to believe so in the past until GYB came to demystify that. Our people want peace and development, they want good schools and good hospitals; they want jobs and empowerment; they want stable power and water; they want rural development and food security. When you do these and others for them, they will believe in you and support you. Despite the media attacks on the governor, the people who have benefited from his rural development, urban renewal, and infrastructure across all the sectors keep voting for his party and showing him support. So, all I need to do is to build on what he has done and expand it. I was with him when the magical development was going on, and I understand how to take it forward. I can say we are ready.

Your opponents think of you as a puppet handpicked by the governor. How would you react to such notion?

It is quite laughable and I usually don’t see some of these things. I do not attune my mind to issues like that. GYB is not just our leader, he has also taught us how to do well. We owe him and the people of Kogi State the responsibility to do well. The majority, if not all, of the people that aspired for the governorship ticket of our party, were eminently qualified to lead the state. All of us are united to make the state better after winning on November 11.

The fundamental issues in the campaigns ahead of the election include the performance of Governor Bello, power rotation, public infrastructure, the civil service and workers’ wages, security and the overall well-being of Kogi people. Based on needs assessment, what are you bringing to the table?

Kogites are interested in knowing if I can continue with the legacies of GYB. He has started landmark projects by building well-equipped schools and hospitals across the state. He has constructed beautiful roads in rural and urban areas. He has started a robust Health Insurance Scheme that has made Medicare cheaper and more accessible. We have a framework in place. What we need to do is to build on them. We have put in our manifesto how we want to take the state forward. We are emboldened by the plans we have and the gains of the past few years. Security is also very key, and Kogites are already used to a governor who sees security as the number one priority. I can assure them that I have learnt from the best and that I will keep the state secured. As a state, our future is assured.

There are widespread allegations that your regime as state auditor general for local councils oversaw an era marred by ‘percentage salaries’, resulting in civil servants’ disenchantment with the state government, especially at the levels of council workers and primary school teachers. How do you think the wage imbalances can be addressed if elected governor?

As the Auditor General for Local Councils, it is my responsibility to ensure that the councils comply with the Audit Law. This has made local councils more transparent and more accountable to the people. This I have discharged to the best of my abilities.
On the inability of local councils to pay full salaries, it started a long time ago. But to a large extent, the Staff Verification Exercise has removed a number of unintended beneficiaries from the local government payrolls. I am aware that what is being paid now is an improvement on what they inherited. With time and with new financial engineering and raising the revenues of local councils, I have no doubt that they will do better.

It is projected that the coming election in Kogi State will be prone to ethnic-based campaigns and that voters across major ethnic groups will eventually vote for their own on election day. What are your thoughts?
I won’t deny the fact that those still living in the past think votes are secured using the plates of ethnicity. The leadership of GYB has conquered the evil of ethnic division in the state. Our campaign is based on what our party has done in the last seven years. We want to be judged based on our track record, capacity and competence. We are better equipped than our opponents and we have better experience than them. Our towering above them has boxed them into a tight corner and the only thing they could do is to play ethnic politics. With what our party has done in the state and with our pedigree, we will win in the three Senatorial Districts.

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Murtala Ajaka, who is of Igala extraction (Kogi East) was quoted as saying he would not have joined the 2023 race if APC had picked a candidate from Kogi West. What is your take on this?
I have said before that I won’t play the ethnic card. I didn’t join the race because I am from a particular part of the state. I joined because I know I have what it takes to take Kogi State to the next level. I have the capacity to serve Kogi better than my competitors and that is why we are going to win the contest. What was quoted above came from another candidate. He knows why ethnicity is his main campaign agenda. I am the candidate for the greatness of Kogi State. I am the Kogi Agenda candidate.

After 18 years rule by Kogi East and eight years rule by Kogi Central, your senatorial district, don’t you think the demand for power shift by the people of Kogi West is a legitimate demand?
This is similar to the last question. My agenda is to develop the entire state and to provide quality leadership. This is in consonance with the dreams of all Kogites. Never again will ethnicity, religion or class determine who leads us as a people in Kogi State. I am Okun, I am Igala and I am Ebira. I carry the hopes of the major and other ethnic groups. Humanity is bigger than divisive considerations.

What is being done to reconcile aggrieved aspirants in the primaries, especially those who went to court like Abubakar Achimugu and Senator Smart Adeyemi whose case is in the Supreme Court?
Since my emergence as the flag bearer of our great party, I have embarked on consultations with Kogi leaders across party lines. I have also embarked on reconciliatory moves to ensure we are all on the same page. We have done this with total commitment and sincerity. We have received hundreds of leaders from other parties and we are ready to prove to the world that Kogi APC is not divided. Let me use this opportunity to sincerely thank the national leadership of our party and the leadership of the national and state campaign councils for their efforts at bringing everyone together. The victory of November 11 shall be a collective victory.

How would you assess the chances of the APC in the upcoming election?
APC is too strong for the opposition to handle in Kogi State. At the centre, we are doing well and the State Government on the APC platform has outperformed previous administrations. We have achievements to campaign with. I respect those who are contesting with me. But they know APC will win.

*Conitnue to read from the source: The Guardian