The Okun Leaders League (OLL) has cautioned Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, against what it described as attempts to drag the royal institution in Okunland into partisan politics, following alleged comments made during a recent meeting with traditional rulers from the area.
In a statement signed by five prominent members of the group, OLL said Governor Ododo had on Thursday, November 5, 2025, invited the chairmen of traditional councils from the five core Okun local government areas, led by the Obaro of Kabba, Oba Solomon Owoniyi, for what was described as a security meeting in Lokoja.
The group, however, alleged that the governor diverted the meeting from security concerns — including rising incidents of kidnapping and killings in Okunland — to canvass support for his re-election in 2027.
According to OLL, Governor Ododo was quoted as saying that Kogi Central, his senatorial district, was determined to match the four-term tenure previously enjoyed by Kogi East in the Government House between 1999 and 2016.
He was also said to have referenced a “rotational arrangement” purportedly designed by his predecessor, Yahaya Bello, which would see Kogi West take power in 2031, beginning with the Okun bloc, and Lokoja/Kotonkarfe in 2039.
The statement further alleged that Ododo questioned voter and population figures from Kogi East, claiming they were inflated at state creation in 1991 to give the zone political advantage. He reportedly urged the royal fathers to use their influence to direct their subjects to support his second-term ambition.
Describing the governor’s comments as “provocative and divisive,” OLL said:
“Kogi State is not the personal estate of any individual or group who believe they can dictate its political direction from their bedrooms. By the time the state was created 34 years ago, Ododo and his mentor, Yahaya Bello, were teenage students with no understanding of how and why Kogi came to be.”
The group accused the current administration of failing to improve the state’s fortunes in nearly a decade of the Bello–Ododo leadership, alleging that Kogi had remained “one of the most backward states in Nigeria.”
“Governor Ododo should sit at his desk in Lokoja and work to redeem the remaining years of his mandate instead of herding Okun royal fathers around like schoolchildren,” the group said.
They also questioned why the governor had not engaged traditional rulers from Kogi East with the same enthusiasm, despite the zone having nine local government areas — nearly twice the number in Okunland.
The statement was endorsed by Canon Andrew Baiyekuhi (Kabba-Bunu), Mallam Qassim Yusuf (Ijumu), Dr. James Ogbondeminu (Mopamuro), Engr. Omobowale Palufe (Yagba East), and Chief Samuel Obaro (Yagba West).
