A multi-party group under the aegis of Coalition for Better Kogi State (CBKS) has issued a communique after its extraordinary stakeholders meeting in Abuja on October 26, 2026, demanding that governorship power shift to Kogi West in the November 2027 election.
The group, which said it comprises members of the APC, PDP, ADC, SDP, Accord, LP, APGA and non-partisan elders from Kogi East, Central and West, said the recent state-sponsored summit in Lokoja and ongoing reconciliation meetings failed to address what it called three wounds.
The communique was signed by Dr. Tom Ohikere, Secretary of the Coalition.
According to the coalition, the first wound is the historical exclusion of Kogi West, which it said has not produced an elected governor since the state was created in 1991, except for 51 days served by Rt. Hon. Clarence Olafemi. The group stated that Kogi East has held power for 17 years and Kogi Central will have held it for 12 years by 2028.
Its second concern relates to party founders and civil servants. The coalition alleged that members who registered and funded the APC in Kogi in 2013/14 have been neglected, and further alleged that local government workers, primary school teachers and pensioners who were paid percentage salaries — 50%, 60%, 80% — between 2016 and 2023 are still owed arrears.
The group called for an independent audit of salary arrears from 2016-2024 by a committee comprising the NLC, TUC, ICAN and NBA, with publication of any outstanding and a payment plan.
The third issue raised was what it described as missing citizens, particularly from Kogi Central. The coalition cited the reported case of one Kabiru Ozi-onyene allegedly taken away in Okene, stating that families allege disappearances without updates. These are allegations by families as reported by the coalition; no official confirmation has been provided.
The group demanded that government publicly address reported missing persons cases and set up an Independent Commission of Inquiry comprising the NBA, National Human Rights Commission, CAN, JNI, traditional rulers, civil society and families.
The coalition also questioned the fate of a previous reconciliation committee headed by Hon. Mohammed Asema Sadiq, noting that its report was allegedly not appreciated.
In its final declaration, the group said power shift to Kogi West in 2028 is not just a zonal agenda but a state-wide agenda for justice, adding that only a zone that has not held executive power can credibly audit past salaries, open inquiries and unite the state. It described the shift as an “irreversible goal.”
Copies of the communique were addressed to all political party chairmen in Kogi State, the Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers, NLC/TUC, NBA Lokoja Branch, the National Human Rights Commission and media houses.
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