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IBADAN – Critical stakeholders of All Progressive Congress (APC) from seven local government areas in Kogi West Senatorial District have advised Governor Usman Ododo of the state to desist forthwith from politicising traditional institutions in the Senatorial District.
The stakeholders under the umbrella of Kogi West APC Leaders Forum (KWALF) made this known in a press statement issued by its Coordinator Hon. Orebiyi Mathew in Lokoja on Friday.
Orebiyi, in the statement alleged that forceful coercion of traditional rulers for partisan purposes can fracture communities, spark communal violence and exacerbate political tensions within the Senatorial District of Kogi West.
The forum said it is aware of alleged scheduled meeting at the instance of Ododo slated to lure traditional rulers from Kogi West to issuing malicious and erroneous statements against the candidate of the APC for the 2027 Kogi West Senatorial Election, Sen. Sunday Steve Karimi with the intention of misleading President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, Members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC and the general public.
The forum stated that traditional rulers were never designed to be political actors.
“They are seen, across the country, as the custodians of our culture, symbols of unity and, as such, are expected to be neutral father figures in their respective communities and domains.
“The involvement of traditional rulers in partisan politics under any guise is not only an aberration but a desecration of the traditional institution in Kogi West and that should not be taken lightly by anybody.”
The forum advised Ododo not to continue to politicise the communal misunderstandings that once exited between the traditional chiefs in Yagba West stating that Distinguished Senator Sunday Steve Karimi had nothing to do with the traditional misunderstandings let alone detaining traditional rulers as maliciously asserted.
