Richard Elesho

I had no premonition about what laid in wait for me on that day, Friday, 26 January. I had started my schedule like on other days, checking on my contacts and hunting for news in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State.

Time was ticking for Alhaji Yahaya Adoiza Bello. His tenure as governor of the State would expire a few hours away, precisely the next day, Saturday. 27 January.

Bello was a governor to the very end. Lined up activities that would lead to his final disengagement included project commissioning, courtesy calls, presentation of staff of office to two traditional rulers, a valedictory session of the house of assembly in honour of the outgoing governor, and State award ceremony, which was the peak of a Gala Night.

Midway into the night program, the result of the GYB Essay Competition,  for journalists based in Kogi State, was announced to usher in the state award proper. The first edition of the competition, an initiative of a media consultant, Dr. Yemi Kolapo took place in June with Mr. Emmanuel Adeyemi of The Sun Newspaper lifting the star prize.

Entries for the second edition were made in September. The state guber poll and busy schedules of the governor, however, delayed its finishing touches. This time, yours sincerely Richard Elesho, Kogi State Correspondent of The News/ Pm News, emerged winner of the competition.

The first and second runners-up were Lewis Yinusa and Stephen Adeleye of The Graphic Newspaper and the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, respectively.

The competition attracts gubernatorial handshske, award decoration, cash, and plaque for all categories.

Below is a rerun of the entry that won the star price:

Kogi guber: Bello, a shoulder for Ododo to lean 

Richard Elesho

Background: Politics in the air

These are not ordinary times in Kogi State. Her nearly four million population are in a frenetic political market shopping for a replacement for Governor Yahaya Adoiza Bello, whose second tenure comes to a mandatory terminal on 27th January 2024. The industry regulator, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has fixed the election for Saturday, 11 November. The off-cycle poll will be held concurrently in two other states, namely Bayelsa and Imo.

Of the trio, Kogi provides a special spectacle. When he assumed office in January 2016, through an act of God, Bello was the youngest state chief executive in Nigeria. He has managed to clutch to that feat to date. More instructive is the fact that whereas the incumbent governors in the other states will be on the ballot seeking their second terms, Bello will not be. At least, not directly.

However, his kinsman and preferred heir, Ahmed Usman Ododo, is the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. He will slug it out with a motley crowd of 17 other candidates, out of which not more than five are really in contention. The other frontline candidates and parties are Senator Dino Melaiye of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; Muritala Yakubu Ajaka of Social Democratic Party, SDP; Adeyinka Braimoh of Action Alliance, AA; Jibrin Usman of Accord, A; and Leke Abejide of African Democratic Congress, ADC.

*Continue to read the story by opening the link below: https://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2023/09/10/kogi-guber-bello-a-shoulder-for-ododo-to-lean/