By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
Kogi West has stepped up its demand for the governorship in 2027, declaring that the zone’s 35-year exclusion from the state’s top political office must end.
The groups, operating under the aegis of DeGroup, made the demand at the Kogi Power Rotation Summit, where they pushed for a binding framework on political power-sharing among the three senatorial districts.
The Rimi Development Association, Lokoja, said Kogi West had never produced a governor since the creation of the state in 1991.
The association argued that Kogi East and Kogi Central had dominated the governorship at different times, leaving the West with what it described as “35 years of absolute exclusion.”
It said handing the governorship to Kogi West would address what it described as an imbalance in the distribution of political power.
The group said the demand should not be limited to the governorship.
It called for equitable representation in the deputy governorship, legislative leadership, public appointments and infrastructure projects.
The association also demanded a binding “Kogi Charter of Equity” to establish clear rules for power rotation among the zones.
It proposed an audit of past appointments and projects, as well as an advisory council to monitor compliance across the state’s 21 local government areas.
Former House of Representatives member, Barrister Shaaba Ibrahim, accused the summit organisers of failing to adequately consider memoranda submitted by Kogi West groups.
Ibrahim alleged that the submissions were not mapped out for discussion or adoption.
“As this stands, we feel our voices have been muzzled and muffled and suppressed,” he said.
He added that the West remained committed to the demand for power rotation.
“We are emotional about this; we are committed to the issue of power rotation to the West,” Ibrahim said.
Also speaking, Suleiman Mohammed Baba of the Danko Development Forum said the agitation was rooted in equity, justice, fairness and inclusion.
Baba said Kogi West had supported other zones in previous political arrangements and deserved similar consideration.
He cited the former Kwara State power-sharing arrangement associated with the late Dr Olusola Saraki as an example of political accommodation.
Baba said the forum submitted a seven-point recommendation, including a codified equity charter, an implementation committee and an elders’ advisory body to monitor rotation across the 21 LGAs.
Meanwhile, retired Colonel Kabiru Ndamodu, the group’s Public Relations Officer, alleged that Kogi West delegates faced hostility at the summit.
He alleged that their maroon-coloured caps and banner were seized and that some of the items were later set ablaze.
Ndamodu condemned the alleged incident, saying it was contrary to the summit’s stated objectives of peace, unity and dialogue.
He urged stakeholders to resolve the disagreement through negotiation.
The groups maintained that allowing another zone to retain the governorship beyond the current tenure would further delay Kogi West’s claim.
They insisted that the governorship should move to the West in the next election cycle as part of what they described as an equitable rotation of power.
