The leader of an umbrella body of Ebiraland in Kogi Central Senatorial District, Ebira Peoples Association (EPA), Dr. Abdulrahman Musa Adeiza has cautioned political parties in the country not to pick their gubernatorial candidates for the November 24th governorship election in the state, from the East Senatorial District, against the background of the new spirit of power shift that has engulfed the state.
Dr. Adeiza, in an exclusive interview with Greenbarge Reporters in Abuja, made it clear that any political party that picks its gubernatorial candidate from the East would be declared as enemy of the state, especially the Central and Western Senatorial Districts of the State.
He said that since the creation of the state in 1991, it is a few political clique from the East that have been rotating the governorship position amongst themselves, adding that these few political clique have not even been of benefit to the people they are supposed to be representing, much more the entire state.
The EPA President said that the serious urge by leaders and stakeholders for power shift for the purpose of effecting wide-spread development across the state had led to the formation of Kogi Central/West Forum for Equity and Justice recently, adding that this group are no pushover in the state.
Saying that the struggle for power shift would be waged without any form of violence other than intellectual discourse, Dr. Adeiza accused the succeeding governors of the state, who have been always from the Eastern flank, of marginalizing not only the other two senatorial districts, even including the state capital, Lokoja, but their own people.
“This is the struggle of conscience and not of weapons. We have a structure to achieve our aim. The market women, youths, students, impoverished civil servants, area councils and mass of the people are behind us.”
According to him, while the Kogi Central Senatorial District alone contributed over 70 percent of the revenue of the state, the East which generated less than 20 percent had continually appropriated leadership, insisting that the Kogi Central and Wet are not agitating for governorship position to rehabilitate themselves, but to use it to effect proportional development, “so that whatever is due to the East is given to it, the same way whatever is due to the Central and West.”
Dr. Adeiza asked the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to get ready to investigate every candidate, including the incumbent that would be contesting the November 24 governorship election, even as he made it clear that if the two prominent political parties insisted on picking their candidates from the East, the Central and West would implement the plan B.
Look out for the full text of the interview soon. [myad]
