By Ekundayo Olumodeji
Nigerian politicians have long practised what is popularly called “rice and beans” politics: quietly supporting different candidates for different offices. But what is unfolding within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, particularly in Kogi West, appears to be moving beyond ordinary political manoeuvring.
The emerging contradiction is striking. APC members are reportedly being suspended for attending meetings organised by an APC senator, while government officials and party figures have been seen engaging opposition candidates.
With the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections approaching, the question for the APC’s national leadership is whether Kogi’s internal divisions could ultimately damage President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election prospects in the state.
The warning signs have become increasingly visible.
Over the past several days, party structures in parts of Kogi West have faced internal upheaval following town hall meetings organised by the senator representing the district, Distinguished Senator Sunday Steve Karimi.
The meetings began in the Yagba Federal Constituency on August 2 and continued in Kabba on August 13 and Lokoja on August 23. Their stated objectives included rendering an account of the senator’s stewardship, presenting his interventions to constituents, highlighting the achievements of the Tinubu administration and mobilising grassroots support for the President’s 2027 re-election.
Yet some APC executives who attended the engagements were subsequently sanctioned.
Ward chairmen and executive members were reportedly suspended for defying directives to boycott the senator’s meetings. Among those affected were Lokoja LGA Youth Leader Talba Lakwaja, six local government executive council members and three ward chairmen.
The development has generated resistance within the party itself.
Stakeholders in Lokoja Ward C rejected the suspension of their chairman, Yusuf Bala Namama, and passed a vote of confidence in his leadership, describing the action as unacceptable.
The controversy has also attracted attention outside Kogi.
Hon. James Faleke, member of the House of Representatives for Ikeja Federal Constituency and Deputy Director-General for Election Planning, Coordination and Monitoring of President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign council, reportedly expressed surprise at the development.
“I read it on social media but didn’t believe that such can happen. But how can you suspend party members for attending Senator Sunday Karimi’s town hall meeting? Well, let’s see how it will end,” Faleke was quoted as saying.
That question goes to the heart of the matter.
If Senator Karimi is an APC senator and his meetings include mobilisation for an APC president seeking re-election, on what basis should APC members be punished merely for attending?
A Different Standard for Government Officials?
The apparent contradiction becomes more politically significant when placed alongside recent engagements between Kogi government officials and opposition politicians.
The Secretary to the Kogi State Government, Dr. Folashade Ayoade, was recently seen in a widely circulated video accompanying PDP senatorial candidate Hon. Tajudeen Yusuf on a private visit to the palace of the Ohimege Igu of Koton Karfe Kingdom, HRM Alhaji Saidu Akawu Salihu.
Earlier in the same week, Hon. Salman Idris, member of the House of Representatives for Kabba-Bunu-Ijumu Federal Constituency, and Oladele Nihi, Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth and Student Matters, were among APC-linked figures received by the same PDP candidate. Photographs of the engagement were subsequently published on the candidate’s official Facebook page.
To be clear, such appearances do not automatically establish anti-party activity. Politicians routinely attend traditional, community and social engagements across party lines.
But politics is also about consistency.
When grassroots APC members are sanctioned for attending an APC senator’s town hall while senior officials can appear publicly with opposition candidates without comparable disciplinary consequences, the perception of double standards becomes unavoidable.
Is Tinubu the Bigger Target?
The deeper concern is the possible effect of these internal battles on President Tinubu’s 2027 campaign.
The President’s known political allies in Kogi include James Faleke, Sunday Karimi, Kogi East Senator Jibrin Isah and 2023 governorship candidate Murtala Ajaka. Yet these figures have had strained political relations with the camp surrounding Governor Usman Ododo and former Governor Yahaya Bello.
That raises a strategic question for the APC: can the party genuinely mobilise for Tinubu’s re-election while simultaneously weakening some of the political structures and personalities through which his campaign must operate?
A source familiar with the political calculations alleged that opposition to Karimi goes beyond the Senate race.
According to the source, after efforts to prevent Karimi from emerging as the APC senatorial candidate failed, those opposed to him adopted an alternative strategy. The source alleged that the ultimate objective was to weaken Karimi’s candidacy and, more broadly, undermine President Tinubu’s interests in Kogi.
The source further alleged that while the PDP candidate, Tajudeen Yusuf, could serve as a visible beneficiary, the real preferred alternative was allegedly ADC candidate Musa Ahmadu, with the wider political objective linked to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The source also claimed that the calculations were connected to Governor Ododo’s second-term ambitions.
These allegations could not be independently verified and should not be treated as established fact without further evidence.
But allegations of this magnitude cannot simply be dismissed if there is evidence suggesting coordinated anti-party activity.
They require investigation.
When APC Becomes Its Own Opposition
Social commentator Abiodun Olaogun has described what he sees as the conduct of some Kogi APC actors as an “Ahitophelitics attitude”, invoking the biblical figure Ahithophel, David’s trusted adviser who later joined Absalom’s rebellion.
The analogy captures the central danger confronting the party: internal political calculations can become so consuming that the party begins to undermine itself.
There is nothing unusual about disagreement within a political party. What becomes dangerous is selective discipline, factional exclusion and the treatment of legitimate intra-party engagement as betrayal.
Every suspended ward executive represents a grassroots network. Every alienated party member carries relationships into communities. And every internal dispute can eventually translate into votes.
That is why the APC national leadership should pay close attention to Kogi.
The issue is not whether one faction should defeat another.
It is whether the APC can present a united electoral machine before January 16, 2027.
If there is genuine anti-party activity, the party should investigate it and apply its rules consistently.
If there is no anti-party activity, legitimate participation in the affairs of an APC senator should not become a punishable offence.
The 2027 election will not reward internal factional victories. It will reward votes.
And if APC continues to consume APC in Kogi, the opposition may not need to defeat the ruling party.
The ruling party may defeat itself.