2023 Kogi State gubernatorial election

The 2023 Kogi State gubernatorial election will take place in late 2023 to elect the Governor of Kogi State. Incumbent APC Governor Yahaya Bello is term-limited and cannot seek re-election to a third term.

2023 Kogi State gubernatorial election
late 2023
 
Party APC PDP
Governor before election

Yahaya Bello
APC

 Elected Governor

TBD
TBD

Electoral system

The Governor of Kogi State is elected using a modified two-round system. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive the plurality of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least two-thirds of state local government areas. If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round will be held between the top candidate and the next candidate to have received a plurality of votes in the highest number of local government areas.

Background

Kogi State is a diverse state in the North Central with a large number of mineral resources but facing an underdeveloped agricultural sector, deforestation, and low vaccination rates.

Politically, the state's early 2019 elections were described by a swing towards the APC as the party was mainly successful, unseating almost all PDP senators and house members to sweep most House of Representatives and two senate seats as the state was won by APC presidential nominee Muhammadu Buhari with over 54%. The House of Assembly election also was a win for the APC as the party won every seat in the assembly. The November election ended similarly with Bello winning election to a second term and the APC gained a senate seat in a rerun election; however, both elections were riddled with irregularities and electoral violence.

In Bello's second inaugural address in 2020, he declared that his second term would highlight agricultural development, increasing employment, and improving the state's revenue.[1] Performance-wise, Bello was commended for gender inclusion in his cabinet[2] but his term was immensely controversial as he was criticized for inciting electoral violence,[3] autocratic actions,[4] lies about COVID-19 and vaccines,[5][6][7][8] and further corruption allegations.[9][10][11][12][13]

Primary elections

The primaries, along with any potential challenges to primary results, will take place in early 2023. While no formal zoning agreement is in place, groups from Kogi West Senatorial District (specifically some groups representing the Okun people) have called for the governorship to be zoned to their district with the justification of no elected governor having come from Kogi West beforehand.[14][15] On the other hand, groups from Kogi Central Senatorial District (specifically some groups representing the Ebira people) are pushing for the office to be retained by their district by claiming that Kogi East Senatorial District held the office for over four terms and thus Kogi Central should as well.[16][17]

Potential

Potential

See also

References
  1. Akubo, John; Obansa, Ibrahim (28 January 2020). "Yahaya Bello takes oath of office, urges support". The Guardian. Abuja and Lokoja. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  2. Lawal, Ahmid. "Liberian VP lauds Bello for surpassing 35% gender inclusion". Blueprint Newspaper. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  3. Olatunji, Haleem. "Gov poll: Yahaya Bello takes violence-charged 'ta-ta-ta-ta chant' to Ondo". TheCable. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  4. "RANKING NIGERIAN GOVERNORS, FEBRUARY, 2020: Top 5, Bottom 5". Ripples Nigeria. Retrieved 18 April 2022. We recall that Bello, in the desperation to expel Achuba from his government, failed to respect the rule of law, especially the no guilty verdict returned by the seven-man committee constituted by the state Chief Judge Justice Nasir Ajana to investigate the former deputy governor.
  5. "RANKING NIGERIAN GOVERNORS, MARCH, 2020: Top 5, Bottom 5". Ripples Nigeria. Retrieved 18 April 2022. Yahaya Bello of Kogi State gets a bottom five mention on account of some reckless pronouncements regarding measures the state government was taking to control the spread of the coronavirus.
  6. "NIGERIAN GOVERNORS: Fumbling, wobbling dominate June 2020 performance". Ripples Nigeria. Retrieved 18 April 2022. The continued denial of the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kogi State by Governor Yahaya Bello has confounded even the worst of skeptics in the land. This denial has become the past time of the governor despite confirmation of cases of the virus in the state by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Apart from the consistent denial, Governor Bello has also continued to cast doubts on the reality of the pandemic in the country, claiming it was an artificial creation meant to drive fear and panic in the minds of the public. It is regrettable that because of this, the average man in the state continues to live in denial of the pandemic.
  7. Onyeji, Ebuka. "COVID-19: Governor Yahaya Bello makes 'false' claims about 'mass testing' in Kogi". Premium Times. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  8. Ufuoma, Vincent. "NGF distances self from comments made by Yahaya Bello on COVID-19 vaccines". International Centre for Investigative Reporting. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  9. Princewill, Nimi. "Gov. Bello allocates suspicious N9bn for COVID-19 while denying virus exists". Peoples Gazette. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  10. Olufemi, Alfred. "INVESTIGATION: Kogi govt spent N90 million on a N300,000 software". Premium Times. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  11. Joshua, Benneth. "Civil Society Groups, PDP, Others Want Yahaya Bello Prosecuted Over Alleged Diversion of N300 Billion". The Whistler. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  12. Olufemi, Alfred. "INVESTIGATION: Kogi farmers excluded from billions of naira 'spent' on COVID-19 recovery". Premium Times. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  13. "N20bn Bailout Loan: Court freezes Kogi govt's account". Premium Times. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  14. Iroanusi, QueenEsther. "2023: Kogi West Elders demand governorship seat, reject deputy position". Premium Times. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  15. "We've Been Marginalised For Over 30 Years — Kogi West Residents Seek To Clinch 2023 Governorship". Sahara Reporters. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  16. Omololu Agbana, Ralph. "Kogi 2023: Possibilities, speculations and manipulations". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  17. Agbana, Ralph (19 April 2022). "Kogi West demands complete power shift come 2023". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  18. Mudashir, Ismail; Salau, Abdullateef. "10 Senators Eyeing Gov'ship Seats In 2023". Daily Trust. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  19. Akinsuyi, Temidayo. "2023: Yahaya Bello Okays Smart Adeyemi As Successor". Independent Nigeria. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  20. Oluokun, Ayorinde. "Group warns Igala politicians working against power shift to Kogi East". P.M. News. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
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