Political associates of Rep member James Faleke have dismissed speculations linking him with the next Kogi State governorship election, urging him instead to remain focused on supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

In a statement by Olukayode Biobaku on behalf of the group, the associates said recent political activities surrounding Faleke’s name, including awards, endorsements and courtesy visits, appeared to be part of a coordinated effort to draw him into Kogi politics.

However, they advised him to resist what they described as “carefully orchestrated political manoeuvres” capable of distracting him from his current national responsibilities.

Stressing that Faleke’s Kogi roots and emotional attachment to the state remain unquestionable, the group recalled that the lawmaker only returned to Lagos, where he has continued to enjoy the confidence of constituents in the Ikeja Federal Constituency after running alongside the late Abubakar Audu in the 2015 governorship election.

The statement added that Faleke has since emerged as one of the most influential lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and occupies a strategic position within the National Assembly and the party’s national structure.

The associates further dismissed a recent online publication that the presidency had directed former governor Yahaya Bello and incumbent Governor Ahmed Ododo to honour a purported one-term agreement involving Faleke.

They noted that the lawmaker had publicly denied any knowledge of such an arrangement, insisting that he neither participated in nor discussed any agreement relating to Kogi’s governorship succession.

The group argued that the rebuttal should have ended the speculation, but alleged that some political actors had continued to promote narratives portraying Faleke as a contender in the next governorship race.

They maintained that the immediate political priority for all APC leaders should be the successful re-election of President Tinubu and the consolidation of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.