Critical stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi East Senatorial District have commenced mobilisation across the district’s nine local government areas to secure victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo in the 2027 elections.

The stakeholders, who reaffirmed their loyalty to the APC, said their immediate priority was to deliver a stronger electoral performance for Tinubu in the January/February 2027 general elections, win all National and State Assembly seats in the district and mobilise support for Ododo’s second-term bid in the November 2027 governorship election.

The position was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a strategic leadership conference held in Abuja.

The communiqué was signed by 26 prominent Kogi East leaders,
including Conference Chairman Major-Gen. Patrick Ademu Akpa (rtd), Amb. Isaac A. Onu, Rt. Hon.
Ismaila Inna Hussani, Rt. Hon. Dr. Emmanuel Egwu, Hajia Salamatu Baiwa
Umar-Eluma, AIG. Abutu Iyaro (rtd), Dr. Sani Teidi, Hon. Dan Okolo, Abdulahi
Haruna (SAN), Dr. Johnson Musa, Prof. Aliyu Idris, Dr. Tom Diche, Hajia Mariam
Yakubu, Hajia Hassanat Abubakar, and Hon. Abubakar Sadiq Ainoko, alongside 11
other key stakeholders.

According to the communiqué, Kogi East delivered the highest bloc vote for Tinubu among the state’s three senatorial districts in the 2023 presidential election and is committed to increasing its electoral contribution to the APC in 2027.

The stakeholders, however, said achieving the objective would require unity and reconciliation among political actors in the district, noting that Kogi East had been weakened by internal divisions following the death of former governor, Prince Abubakar Audu, in 2015.

The stakeholders called for reconciliation within Kogi East and renewed collaboration with Kogi Central and Kogi West, insisting that the district should engage the other senatorial zones on equitable and transparent terms.

While reaffirming their commitment to the unity of Kogi State, they maintained that Kogi East would not accept being treated as an appendage of any political bloc.

The communiqué also urged political leaders to revive the inclusive leadership philosophy of the late Prince Audu, whom they credited with promoting balanced development across the three senatorial districts during his administration.

The meeting commended Governor Ododo for immortalising the late former governor through the naming of the Prince Abubakar Audu Boulevard in Lokoja and welcomed the establishment of the Prince Abubakar Audu Leadership Foundation to preserve his political ideals and leadership philosophy.

Among its resolutions, the stakeholders pledged total grassroots mobilisation across the nine local government areas of Kogi East for the APC in 2027, endorsed continued support for the Prince Abubakar Audu Leadership Foundation as a non-partisan institution, and called on the Federal Government to confer a posthumous national honour on the late former governor.

They also resolved to end the political disaffection that followed the 2015 governorship election and Prince Audu’s passing, saying Kogi East must pursue its political aspirations through unity, dialogue and collective engagement.

The communiqué called on members of Prince Audu’s political family, party faithful, youth leaders and elders across Kogi East to put aside past grievances and work together to strengthen the APC and reposition the district for greater political relevance and development ahead of the 2027 elections.