There is an uneasy calm at the
moment in the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kogi State over the choice of
Hon. Abiodun Faleke, a member of the House of Representatives, representing
Ikeja Federal Constituency of Lagos State, as the running mate to the governorship
candidate of the APC for the November 21 governorship election in the state,
Alhaji Abubakar Audu.
Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, though an
indigene of Kogi State, has always played his politics in Lagos. He was a two
term chairman of Ojodu Local Council Development Area and a second term member
of the House of Representatives, representing Ikeja Federal Constituency,
Lagos. During his time as a council boss in Lagos, Abiodun Faleke was the
chairman of Forum 57, a forum of LGA and LCDA bosses in Lagos State.
Aside his prominence in the politics
of Lagos State, Faleke is believed to be one of the trusted loyalists of the
National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
However, his adoption as the running
mate to former Governor, Abubakar Audu may have drawn the ire of prominent
members of the APC in Kogi State and vocal indigenes of Kogi West Senatorial
District, where he hails from.
Reports reaching DAILY POST suggests
that several chieftains of the party in the state are angry over Faleke’s choice,
hinging their disapproval on the fact that he is not known in Kogi political
circles and do not have a political base in the state.
A visibly angry Chieftain of the
party from the western part of the state, who spoke to DAILY POST on the
telephone, said the choice of Falake has only succeeded in rubbishing all the
effort they have made in building the party from inception, asking if Okun land
lacks other qualified individuals in the party that have in the last two years
contributed to its growth.
“There is no doubt that the choice
of Faleke is a tactical error on the part of Alhaji Abubakar Audu and those who
promoted that choice. It is an error because by this, they have succeeded in
telling us that those who have worked hard to build the party in the state are
no good materials worthy of consideration. Why bring somebody, who by every
standard is an outsider in the politics of Kogi State?” he queried.
Aside the issue of the “foreigner”
status Faleke has been labeled with by most active Kogi Politicians, another
trouble his pairing with Audu may have is the age-long zoning formula the
western part of the state has been practicing.
This zoning formula, according to
sources, may spell doom for the APC candidate and his running mate if something
urgent is not done to correct the seeming imbalance.
A source in Lokoja confided in DAILY
POST that it has never happened in the history of Kogi West for two high
ranking political office to come from the same local government, as it is
likely to happen if Audu sticks to Faleke as his running mate.
According to the source, Senator
Dino Melaye, is from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of the state
while Abiodun Faleke is from Ekirin Adde, also in Ijumu Local Government. This,
the source said, will certainly be restricted by other LGAs in the senatorial
district, as it will be an injustice to them.
The source, who preferred to remain
anonymous, said if the situation is not corrected, the APC would have willingly
played into the hands of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and ruin its
chances of wrestling power from the ruling party in state.
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