By Emmanuel Oloniruha
An interest group, Eagle Watch and Project Accountability Initiative, has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership to adopt Dr Ibrahim Bisimillahi as a neutral consensus candidate for Kogi West Senatorial District, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The group made the request in a statement jointly signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Danasabe Muhammed and Secretary, Abdulateef Kareem, and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday.
The group also called for urgent intervention of President Bola Tinubu and the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, in resolving the growing political tension generated by the outcome of the recent primary election in the senatorial district.
The call, it said, had become necessary following the conflicting results from the primary election, with separate declarations naming both the incumbent, Sen. Sunday Karimi and Hon. Samuel Aro as winners of the contest.
According to the group, the ongoing dispute between the two leading aspirants, who both hail from Yagba West Local Government Area, risks polarising the party and weakening its electoral prospects in the 2027 presidential, legislative and governorship polls.
“In the interest of peace, unity and the overall success of APC in the 2027 general elections, it has become necessary for the party leadership to carefully consider the emergence of a neutral consensus candidate who can unite all aggrieved camps.
“Allowing either Sen. Karimi or Hon. Aro to emerge as the party’s candidate may leave one faction feeling marginalised and unfairly treated.
“A neutral and acceptable candidate must emerge — someone trusted and respected by all camps,” the statement read.
Reviewing the historical power-rotation arrangement in Kogi West, which is divided into Lokoja/Koton-Karfe, Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu and Yagba federal constituencies, the group said that while the current zoning naturally favoured the Yagba axis, “equity demands that it goes to Yagba East.”
It noted that while Karimi and Aro are from Yagba West, Yagba East Local Government Area had never produced a senator for the senatorial district.
This, according to the group, has made Bisimillahi an equitable and stabilising choice.
It outlined reasons for backing Bisimillahi to include his unalloyed loyalty to APC and his strong political structure across the seven local government areas of Kogi West.
The group also cited Bisimillahi’s cordial relationships with the political blocs of James Faleke, former Gov. Yahaya Bello and the incumbent Gov. Ahmed Ododo.
“Dr Bisimillahi’s emergence as a consensus candidate will significantly reduce tension and create a win-win situation for all stakeholders.
“His political network was built over many years and strengthened through the political legacy of his late father, Alhaji Simidu Bisimillahi, who was a close associate of the late Prince Abubakar Audu,” the group stated.
It also commended Bisimillahi’s grassroots popularity, humanitarian contributions and community empowerment programmes, describing him as a bridge capable of ensuring that APC enters the 2027 elections as a united family.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
OBE/WAS
Edited by ‘Wale Sadeeq
