Kogi polls: APGA candidate tasks aspirants on violent-free elections

The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate, Mr Idoko Ilona has urged all aspirants in the November 11 Kogi governorship election to ensure a violent-free contest.

In an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, Ilona called on Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi to “preach peace’’ and put all necessary apparatus in place to ensure a free and fair election.

The APGA candidate said that leadership is about service to the people, urging them to lay their agenda at campaigns and let the voters decides who has the best idea to govern the state through ballot.

According to him, this is a new regime of President Bola Tinubu, he won’t allow violence to happen, election is not war, if we really want to serve, and then there should be no violence.

“We preach peaceful election, we caution our people not to be violent but the warming is simple, nobody has the monopoly of violence, you cannot intimidate anybody in Kogi, and election must be free and fair.

“We expect the governor to preach the same message, we want all the aspirant to preach the same message, this is a contest, unless you want to come and steal; I am totally against that violence.

““If you really want to serve the people, there is no need for violent, we should not be preaching violence in politics.

“Anybody that tells you to come and carry arms for violence, tell him to bring his son or family members to lead the violence,” he said.

The APGA candidate said that power comes from God saying that no amount of money, fame or violence can give power.

Ilona, however, said that God uses men to crown a man king and that he, being the best candidate for the job had positioned himself for victory come November 11.

He urged all the opposition parties to merge behind the best candidate to defeat the ruling party in the state for the good of the people as division would split votes to the advantage of the ruling party.

Ilona said that Kogi cannot be so blest with so much natural and human resources and be where it is saying that the issues of half salary is pathetic and traumtising for our people.

The APGA candidate said Lokoja the state capital is a small town surrounded with water bodies yet does not have tap water in the town.

The aspirant said that Kogi is the only state that share boarders with 10 states in the country and that it is the gateway between the North and South.

He said that as a result of bad governance, politics in the state is being played along ethnic lines which is not supposed to be so.

According to him, it is an unfortunate situation but we hope to correct this when given the opportunity to govern the state; solid foundation will be laid so that going forward, we have a good template to work with.

Illiona said he has confidence in INEC to deliver credible elections, however, checks and balance mechanisms will be put in check the umpire.