The Kogi West APC Leaders Forum has rejected an invitation from Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for a dialogue meeting over the disputed Kogi West senatorial primary election, insisting instead on the immediate restoration of the mandate of Hon. Samuel Bamidele Aro as the party’s candidate.
The Forum, in a press statement signed by its convener, Right Hon. Alfa Imam, a former Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, said it stood firmly behind party leaders in rejecting what it described as a plot to substitute Aro’s candidacy to satisfy the selfish interests of a desperate few.
The group recalled that leaders under its aegis had briefed journalists in Lokoja last Saturday to protest plans to replace Aro, who they insist emerged validly as the APC candidate for the senatorial district following the May 2026 primary election.
Reacting to a subsequent invitation from Governor Ododo for a dialogue meeting on the matter, the Forum said it was not interested in further meetings, describing its demand as simple and non-negotiable: the unconditional restoration of Aro’s mandate.
“The will of the people cannot continue to be treated as an afterthought to be negotiated away in closed-door meetings,” the statement read, adding that its position was not an act of disrespect to the governor, whom it held in high esteem.
The Forum, however, urged Ododo to use his office to engage the APC National Headquarters in Abuja to ensure justice prevails, warning that history would not be kind to any leader who watched injustice unfold without acting.
According to the group, the primary election that produced Aro was free, fair, and credible, having been monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies, including the Nigerian Police Force and the Department of State Services, all of whom it said have reports confirming his victory.
The Forum described any attempt to alter the outcome as an affront to democracy and a betrayal of the trust of Kogi West APC members, and called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as national leader of the party, to intervene urgently and direct the party’s headquarters to engage Ododo to resolve the matter in line with the primary election results.
“We will not relent, and we will not be silenced. Justice for Hon. Samuel Bamidele Aro is justice for the people of Kogi West,” the statement concluded.
