Major players in Kogi politics are already shopping Governor Yahaya Bello's replacement whose second tenure will end in 2023.
A major factor that is currently at play in the state is ethnic consideration as Kogi politics is highly divided and decided along ethnic lines.
Any candidate that want to win election especially governorship election in the state must know how to play his card along the three major ethnic groups in the state; the Ebira of Kogi Central, the Igala of Kogi East and the Okun of Kogi West.
The important question people within the state and outside the state have continued to ask is who among the three major ethnic group will produce the next Governor of the state.
The Possibility Of Kogi-West Producing the Next Gov
An indepth look at the 2023 governorship election in the state has shown that the Okun people of Kogi-West are the favorite zone to produce the next Governor of the state.
The Igalas of Kogi East have been producing all the elected Governors of the state since its inception until the coming of Yahaya Bello, an Ebira mam from Kogi Central in 2016.
The Igalas have produced three elected Governors of the state: Late Prince Abubakar Audu who governed the state from 1999-2003, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris from 2003-2012, and Captain Idris Wada from 2012-2016.
With this factor, it will be an impossible mission for Kogi East to produce the next Governor of the state.
The Ebira on the other hand may not be able to produce the next Governor of the state because the current Governor of the State, Yahaya Bello who's on his second term is an Ebira man from Kogi Central.
On the other hand, the Okun people of Kogi West has not produced the Governor of the state since its creation in 1991.
The people of Kogi-west have valid argument and they stand as the favorite to produce the next Governor of the state.
Within the APC fold, the current Director General of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Babatunde Irukera is being speculated as the anointed candidate of APC in 2023 in Kogi West.
Ireukera contested against Yahaya Bello on APC Primary election in 2019 and was the only major contender that was cleared after initial illegal disqualification from the primary election and ended up as the first runner up of the primary election despite being cleared 24hours to the primary.
Within the PDP, Dino Melaye is being speculated as the right man to fly PDP's flag from Kogi West.
If the political permutations go as plan, the people of Kogi-West will fly the flag of the two major parties in the state and will eventually produce the state governor for the first time after 29 years of creation.
Content created and supplied by: SAEAN (via Opera News )
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