Kogi council polls: Ododo assures of free, fair, credible election

Usman Ododo, Kogi state Governor has given an assurance that he would leave no stone unturned in ensuring free, fair and credible local government council elections slated for October 19 in the state.

Speaking at the flag-off Campaigns of the All Progressive Congress (APC), on Thursday in Lokoja,  Ododo promised a level playing field for all the participating political parties and provision of adequate security, adding that his administration has laid the foundation for the victory of APC by touching the lives of the people positively.

He commended President Bola Tinunu for making security a top priority of his administration, adding that the gesture accounted for the peace being enjoyed in Kogi, as he assured that the election would not only be peaceful but free, fair and transparent.

Ododo appealed to the people to support the president in his drive to reposition the economy of the country, saying that the president meant well for the nation, assuring that the people would soon continue to see the dividends of his efforts, adding that the hardship being experienced now will soon be a thing of the past.

He equally told APC members and support to come out on October 19 to cast their votes for APC, saying that the party meant well for the people and will continue to deliver dividends of democracy to them.

He said “The party cares about the welfare of the people of the state. I urged you therefore to work for the candidates that will utilize your resources to work for you and those are the candidates of our party the APC.

“The mandate given to me as Governor is to work for the benefit of the people and not about noise making. I and my team will continue to do that without making noise about it.

“We have been able to intervene in the provision of quality and adequate health for our people, improved infrastructure, investment in education, youth employment and women empowerment, which he said will form the basis of the APC campaign.”

However, he urged the people of the state not to be intimidated by anyone, but to go out boldly to cast their votes for the candidates of the APC.

He commended the people of the state for their support which he said was largely responsible for the successes recorded by his administration, saying that he will not disappoint them.

Abdullahi Bello, the chairman of APC in the state, in his welcome address, advised members of the party and supporters to engage in door-to-door campaigns to garner more support for the candidates of the party.

He assured that the party is going to win all the chairmanship positions because the party has done well in the state.

The representatives of the three districts; Ibrahim Ahovi, Kogi Central; Matthew Kolawole, Kogi West and Comfort Egwuaba in their various speeches assured that the votes from their areas would be total, saying there was no opposition anywhere in the state again.

Egwuaba particularly noted that the emergence of women as Vice chairmen for APC across the 21 LGAs along with five Councillorship positions, along with numerous women appointed in the governor’s cabinet has made the campaign easy for them.

Earlier, Salihu Ogbo Usman, the Chairman of the APC local government campaign committee, noted that the governor has simplified their job by over 90% with his impressive performance in office as Governor.

Usman scored the Governor high in Agriculture, infrastructural development, payment of salary to both State and LG workers, added that this is also another campaign point for the committee.