The Governor of Kogi state and the flag bearer of the APC in the state, Yahaya Bello, has picked his Chief of Staff, Edward Onoja, to be his running mate for the November 16 governorship election.
This development was reported by TheCable.
TheCable said the governor submitted Onoja’s name to the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during his trip to Abuja earlier in the week.
“The chief of staff is the running mate of His Excellency in the forthcoming election. An official announcement would be made soon,” the governor’s aide said.
“Mr Onoja’s name was submitted to the national working committee of the party when His Excellency visited the party headquarters on Thursday.”
Onoja neither responded to calls nor text messages when TheCable tried reaching him on Sunday evening.
Reacting to the development, the spokesman of the Governor said “The party will confirm that at the appropriate time,” via text message to the Cable.
An ally of Bello, Onoja is the most influential member of the governor’s cabinet. Their relationship predates the emergence of the governor in 2016.
Aged 49, the indigene of Emonyoku Ogugu in Olamaboro local government area of Kogi, is a Geologist.
He sought the ticket of the former All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) for a house of assembly seat in 2011.
He was the chief strategist of “Yahaya Bello Campaign Organization” in 2015 and the state director of the Kogi Youth Arise Group, which worked for the success of President Muhammadu Buhari, still in 2015.
APC is influencing things in Nigeria badly by force or favor. Not too good for the good of the country.