Why State Assembly polls may go presidential way in Kogi

There are 25 seats at the state House of Assembly and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 20 back in 2011, while the opposition got five, but with the recent result of presidential election, analysts say that things may take a different turn in the state.In the last 13 years, Kogi State has been under […]

There are 25 seats at the state House of Assembly and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 20 back in 2011, while the opposition got five, but with the recent result of presidential election, analysts say that things may take a different turn in the state.
In the last 13 years, Kogi State has been under PDP, and the party has won every presidential election in the state until the Buhari tsunami that swept the nation on March 28 affected the state, giving the All Progressives Congress (APC) all the three senators and six House of Representatives members, while PDP got only three.
Political observers believe that the factors that shaped the March 28 elections will also come into play during the Assembly election tomorrow, especially as APC has won the presidency.
The factors that shaped the presidential poll in the state, according to observers, were perceived non-performance of the party, dissatisfaction with the party’s primaries and the Buhari’s factor, among others.
During the presidential poll, members of the PDP across the state voted for the opposition party, because many believed it was a payback time for what they described as injustice perpetrated by the leadership of the party.
The issue of teachers’ salary and local government workers percentage payment may also come into play here as the workers believe that the ruling party did not assist them, despite repeated plea for help.
Again, in the aftermath of the presidential election, the Kogi PDP, like in many other states, was affected by a gale of defections, dealing a serious blow on the PDP’s quest to control the Assembly.
But members of the PDP believe that what happened at the presidential election will be different from what will happen tomorropw, hoping that the party will win the election.
But Governor Idris Wada and his deputy, Yomi Awoniyi, lost their local governments, Dekina and Mopamoro respectively, to the opposition party in the presidential election.
Yomi has repeatedly begged the people of the local government to vote for the PDP candidates tomorrow’s election but whether the plea would change the vote pattern remains to be seen.
In the three senatorial districts of the state, namely, the Kogi West, Kogi Central and Kogi East, it is believed that APC may still carry the day the way it did two weeks ago.
In Kogi Central, analysts say may go the APC’s way due to the Buhari’s factor and the desire for change, just like in the presidential election. But it is also believed that Adavi local government may be an exception due to the gentleman’s agreement in the local government.
Also, in Kogi East, political observers say the situation may not be different from the central district, except in Omala and Olamaboro local government areas  because of the change factor defection by PDP members to the APC.
The case may not be different in Kogi West as many believe the APC may be the bride because the opposition held sway in the last Assembly election.
However, the state government is making frantic efforts to undo the wind of change in the state as several meetings have been held by the party leadership in a bid to make positive impact in the election.
An APC chieftain in the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Alico Ocheje, is of the opinion that the party would take over the control of the state after the election.
Ocheje told Daily Trust that APC has come to stay in the state, while the PDP has gone into oblivion with its defeat at the presidential and National Assembly elections.
But special adviser to Wada on media and strategy, Jacob Edi, said the PDP would win landslide in the election.
He said the dynamism of presidential election was quite different from that of governorship and House of Assembly election and, therefore, one cannot use the March 28 elections to predict outcome of  the House of Assembly election.
“PDP will win the Assembly election in Kogi State. The PDP will still dominate the Assembly in the state as it has always done. Kogi State is a PDP state and it will remain so.”
As it stands, it remains to be seen which of the two parties will win majority of seats in the Assembly tomorrow.