Kogi Election Results: How the battle was won and lost

Never in the history of Kogi politics has a governorship been keener contested. It was an altercation between the power of incumbency and the change hurricane.

In March and April 2015, the opposition party, All Progressives Congress, showed a glimpse of its potency and readiness to take over the mantle of power in the confluence State.

Though many had written off the APC as a fluke and a beneficiary of the Buhari flood of followership, the 2015 governorship election may have heralded a setback to the political dominance of the state by the Peoples Democratic Party which has governed the state for 12 years.

The loss by Capt Idris Wada would go down in history as the second, after Prince Abubakar Audu lost the 2003 governorship election to Alh. Ibrahim Idris of the PDP.

Audu contested on the platform of the All Nigerian Peoples Party.

While the Victory of Audu may not have come as a surprise given the strength of the opposition party in Kogi State, not many people gave the governor-elect the slightest chance to pull through such a strong showing across the three senatorial districts of the state.

How Wada Lost the Poll
The November 21 governorship election shook the political pillars of the state. Bitter rivalry between the two leading contestants led to hate campaigns and sometimes, violence.

Workers Welfare
Top on the list of the factors that led to the fall of Wada was his inability to pay workers salaries, especially council workers and primary school teachers.

With the population multipliers of these segments of the workforce, it is practically impossible to win any election without the support of the labour community.

Though the governor explained the reasons behind the inability of Local Government Councils to pay their workers, many of the workers felt the governor was the factor behind their inability to receive salaries.

It is obvious that the instability in the global oil market has seriously affected the revenue accruing to the states.

But the failure to pay workers’ salaries virtually killed Wada’s dream for a second term.

Political Disconnection
Analysts feel the governor didn’t do enough to play the politics of stomach infrastructure. The decision of the governor to choose competence over politics may have played a role in his failure.

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