The political landscape of Kogi West Senatorial District was definitively reshaped yesterday as the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, clinched the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for the 2027 Senatorial election in a landslide victory.
The primary election, held at the crowded Confluence Stadium in Lokoja under heavy security, saw the former two-term governor dismantle his rivals in a showcase of organizational discipline and deep grassroots mobilization that has become the hallmark of his political structure.
The Numbers from the Confluence
The primary election was conducted using the indirect delegate system, supervised by a five-member APC Primary Election Committee sent from the National Headquarters in Abuja, led by Hon. Festus Adesayan.
Of the 650 accredited delegates drawn from the seven local government areas that make up Kogi West (Bunu/Kabba, Lokoja, Kogi/Koton-Karfe, Mopa-Muro, Ijumu, Yagba East, and Yagba West), Yahaya Bello secured an overwhelming 582 votes. His closest rival, a veteran lawmaker from the zone, trailed distantly with a meager 34 votes, while 12 votes were declared invalid.
Anouncing the official results, Hon. Adesayan declared, “Having satisfied all the requirements of our great party’s constitution and electoral guidelines, and having scored the highest number of votes cast, I hereby declare His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, as the winner and the flagbearer of the APC for the Kogi West Senatorial District.“
A Shift in Political Geography
Bello’s victory is particularly historic because it marks an unconventional cross-zonal political movement. Traditionally hailing from the Kogi Central (Ebira) axis, Bello’s strategic entry into the Kogi West (Okun/Lokoja-Koton Karfe) legislative race had initially raised eyebrows among political purists.
However, his team successfully leveraged his long-standing ties with the traditional institutions and youth networks in Lokoja and Koton-Karfe to build an unassailable coalition.
In his acceptance speech, delivered amid thunderous applause from supporters wearing customized white and blue tunics, Bello thanked the delegates for looking past micro-zoning in favor of “tested capacity.“
“This is not a victory for Yahaya Bello; it is a victory for the consolidation of progress,” the former governor stated. “Kogi West possesses the intellectual and natural resources to lead Nigeria’s industrial revolution. For eight years as your governor, I built the infrastructure—the roads, the hospitals, the unified security architecture. Now, I am asking you to send me to the Red Chamber to build the legislative framework that will permanently lock in these gains.“
Unity and Healing
Despite the fiercely contested pre-primary campaign, the atmosphere post-declaration was remarkably cordial. In a move that surprised many observers, Bello’s main opponents walked up to the podium to embrace the winner, signaling an early closing of ranks within the state chapter of the APC.
The Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, who was present at the venue, described the primary as a “family affair” and a testament to the internal democracy thriving within the state’s ruling party. “Our leader has shown once again that his political weight is not regional, but statewide. The opposition should start preparing their concession speeches for the general election because Kogi West is securely locked for the APC,” Ododo declared.
The electoral materials, ballot boxes, and security architecture used for the exercise were praised by independent observers from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who monitored the process, describing it as peaceful, orderly, and highly transparent.
