• Say state has no place for ethnic politics
• ASCF asks Tinubu to ensure fair, transparent election

The forum of former members of Kogi State House of Assembly, yesterday, unanimously declared support for the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Usman Ododo, for the November 11, 2023 gubernatorial election in the state.

The members, who served between 1999 and 2019, also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately activate relevant sections of the Electoral Law against candidates fanning ethnic divisions and stoking atomic politics.

Chairman of the Forum, Alhassan Adakeke, who spoke with journalists in Lokoja, said their decisions would have a lot of effects on thousands of their supporters across the state.

Meanwhile, the Arewa Stakeholders Consultative Forum (ASCF), yesterday, asked President Bola Tinubu to direct security agencies, the INEC and all stakeholders to ensure a free and safe voting exercise in the state’s governorship poll.

It, however, alleged plans by top security officials to manipulate the election in favour of the Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) candidate, Murtala Yakubu Ajaka.

The ASCF, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Danjuma Paul, said that the people of Kogi would not tolerate any attempt to undermine their democratic rights.