….…Asks Tinubu To Call Senator Akpabio To Order.
Emmanuel lkpeama.
A political group, Kogi East APC Justice Forum, has cautioned the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, against alleged interference in the political affairs of Kogi State, particularly in Kogi East Senatorial District.
The group also appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene and caution the Senate President against actions capable of causing tension and division within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
In a statement issued yesterday and signed by Mr. Monday Onalo on behalf of the Forum, the group alleged that Senator Akpabio was backing moves to impose Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho on the people of Kogi East despite his reported loss in the APC senatorial primary election.
According to the statement, the Forum claimed to have credible information indicating that there were clandestine efforts aimed at influencing the political direction of Kogi East against the wishes of party members and stakeholders.
“We have it on good authority that there are clandestine moves by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to impose Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho on the people of Kogi East after losing the Senate primary election which was peacefully conducted and declared free and fair,” the statement read.
The group maintained that Kogi East has an established rotational political arrangement which has over the years promoted fairness, inclusion, and peaceful coexistence across the district.
It warned that any attempt to undermine the arrangement for personal political interests could destabilise the area and create unnecessary political tension.
“Kogi East has a well laid down rotational arrangement that has fostered peaceful coexistence over the decades. Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho cannot continue to betray that process.
Any attempt to distort it for self-serving political ambitions will be resisted by the people,” the Forum stated.
The group further alleged that Senator Echocho had continued to make underground moves to overturn the outcome of the primary election after allegedly losing the confidence of party members in the district.
According to the Forum, the office of the Senate President does not confer powers on Senator Akpabio to determine political candidates or outcomes in states outside his constituency.
“That Senator Godswill Akpabio is the Senate President does not give him the right to choose senators across the country as he is allegedly trying to do in Kogi East and Kogi West.
We have no business with the politics of Akwa Ibom and we expect that nobody from Akwa Ibom should attempt to impose his own choices on the people of Kogi State,” the statement added.
The Forum called on President Tinubu to urgently intervene in order to protect the unity and stability of the APC in Kogi State.
“We call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to call the Senate President to order so as not to throw our party into needless confusion and jeopardy.
The unity and stability of the APC in Kogi State must not be sacrificed on the altar of personal political interests,” the statement concluded.
Investigator news reports that the group reaffirmed its commitment to defending the political integrity, peace, and democratic traditions of Kogi East Senatorial District.