By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The decision of some elders of Kogi State extraction living in Kaduna State to endorse the candidacy of Mr Attai Aidoko to represent Kogi East Senatorial District in the 2019 at the National Assembly has brewed a fresh crisis in the region.
The elders, under the aegis of Kogi Christian Elders Forum in Kaduna State, said the Senator should be given another chance to represent his people at the red chamber of the parliament for another four year, a decision some Christian elders in Kogi State are vehemently against.
Mr Aidoko is presently at the National Assembly representing the people of Kogi East Senatorial District under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the same platform he is using to seek another term in office.
But the elders in Kogi State said the lawmaker has not been giving them a quality representation at the parliament, which made them to root for a former banker and philanthropist, Mr Victor Adoji, who was later denied the PDP ticket, which forced him to another party.
Leader of Kogi Christian Elders Forum in Kaduna State, Mr Samuel Salihu, explained that his group unanimously endorsed Mr Aidoko because they see him as high ranking member of the Senate.
Mr Salihu said this was not an opportunity the Igala nation should lose or sacrifice for the lower ambitions of the other candidates. Even more, the elders’ group is said to be very impressed by Senator Aidoko’s achievement for the 16 years he has been at the National Assembly.
But Elders Forum in Kogi State, which rejected Mr Aidoko’s endorsement, said Kaduna Elders do not have an idea of what the Christians in Kogi East are going through.
Already, a meeting of all the Christian elders in Kaduna to formally endorse Senator Aidoko has been slated to hold on December 17 in Ankpa.
But before then, a meeting will hold on Tuesday, December 11, purposely to inform the Kogi East Christian clerics of the decision reached by the group. Already, there is a reconciliation committee put in place to mitigate the outcome of any likely negatives from this decision.