Degroup Reaffirms Demand for Kogi West Power Shift in 2027
A pressure group, Degroup, has renewed its push for the governorship of Kogi State to move to the Kogi West Senatorial District in 2027, arguing that the matter should not be turned into an endless argument. The group spoke on Wednesday at a press briefing held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Lokoja, the state capital.
Barrister Shaba Ibrahim, the group's spokesperson, who previously sat in the House of Representatives for the Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency, said the agitation would continue until power shifts to Kogi West in 2027. He claimed that a recent power-shift summit convened by the Kogi State Government, which was meant to create room for dialogue and a peaceful settlement of the long-running demand, turned into a hostile environment for his delegation.
"We were invited to the summit, which was supposed to advocate peace, but some of our delegates were intimidated. Our supporters were harassed and our banners were destroyed," he alleged.
Shaba noted that the rotation question is not a new one, pointing out that it had come up for discussion during earlier administrations, among them the government of the late former Governor Abubakar Audu. While conceding that Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo is constitutionally entitled to run for a second term, he argued that this right does not weaken the group's insistence on rotation.
"The governor has a constitutional right to a second term, but that cannot stop our agitation," he said.
Also addressing the briefing, Alhaji Muhammed Sulaiman Baba, who spoke for the Danko Development Association and DDF, said the community-based organisations behind the agitation are guided by equity, justice and fairness. According to him, the association laid seven recommendations before the summit, one of which proposed that political power should shift to Kogi West from 2027.
Baba also alleged that what transpired at the summit failed to match its stated goal of fostering peace and dialogue, claiming that persons described as thugs destroyed banners belonging to supporters of the power-shift campaign.
In his own remarks, retired Colonel Kabir Ndamadu called the turn of events "a show of shame," saying those backing rotation would not drop their demand in spite of what he described as harassment.
"What we see today is a show of shame," he said.
Ndamadu added that the group would keep mobilising support for the movement of political power to Kogi West.
Among those present at the briefing were a former Director with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Alhaji Bala Haruna; Alhaji Sulaiman Muhammed Baba; Alhaji Hamisu Nayashi; and retired Colonel Ndamadu Ndalugi, alongside others.
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