By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.
FORUM of Former Members of the Kogi State House of Assembly has endorsed and pledged to work for candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo in the forthcoming November 11, Governorship Election.
Chairman of the Forum, Hon. Alhassan Adakeke who disclosed this at a Press Conference on Thursday in Lokoja said the resolution was reached after series of meetings, consultations and engagements with their constituents across the state.
“As an organised body, we do not take hasty decisions as our decisions will have a lot of effects on thousands of our supporters across the state.
“Therefore, we took our time to examine the candidates in the contest and have arrived at a decision which we believe, is in the best interest of our dear state”, he said.
The Forum commend Governor Yahaya Bello, for his equitable distribution of projects, poverty-reduction policies and the huge success at uniting the state through his “detribalized approach” to governance.
Adakeke while presenting the Forum’s address held that Governor Bello had built enduring legacies of development, unity, progress in the state and steered the state towards the path of greatness and national consciousness.
He described the APC Governorship Candidate as a product of a system that has put Kogi on the map of development hence the Forum’s resolve to support Ododo and the party to ensure continuity and sustained development.
Adakeke hinted that among the candidates jostling for the number one seat, Ododo was the most qualified, the most experienced, the most prepared and the best man for the job.
The Forum Chairman added that apart from his message of consolidation and continuity, Ododo possessed character traits of a great leader as being accessible, humble, brilliant and devoid of the negative drama that dotted the “histories” of his competitors.
“Apart from the capacity, competence, capability, brilliance and readiness of Ahmed Usman Ododo for the task ahead, it is also pertinent to note that the Ajaokuta Steel resurgence is at the centre of the economic recovery plan of the Tinubu Presidency.
“Our state supported the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and will continue to support him to succeed. We cannot afford to elect a mediocre into Lugard House who will be opposed to the economic plan that will make Nigeria a true giant of Africa.
“Kogi is too central to Nigeria to be in the hand of the opposition, not when Governor Yahaya Bello has led the ruling party into dominant victories since 2015. We will vote to keep Kogi at the centre of political reckoning in Nigeria.
“It is our desire that the revolution currently ongoing in Education, Health, Agriculture, Youth and Women Empowerment as well as Infrastructure will continue when we elect the man who understands the development wand of the current administration.
“We are for consolidation. We are for continuity. We are for Ododo. We are for a united and prosperous Kogi State”, Chairman of the Forum declared. (Ends)