Much Ado about Ogoja LGA Chairmanship Election: meet the Rumoured Contenders —Abang Ogon

Abang Ogon|16 February 2017

Nobody is an aspirant yet because nobody has formally or officially declared his or her intension to gun for the number one seat of an underdeveloped and stagnated former provincial headquarters and local government; more so the electoral umpire is yet to come out with match fixtures to get the game started.

But for palm wine lovers like myself who will always obey the call to the palm wine gossip bar to discus Ogoja, let me furnish you with trending stories from the bar and names of some political Maradonna’s warming up to take over the leadership of the underdeveloped LGA as alleged by the judges on the palm wine bench, forgive me if you are wrongly brought to public discourse, truth is, majority of the judges currently practicing in the gossip court are hyperactive we cannot afford to take their words to the bank, however the palm wine bench is very resourceful; if you want to hear stories you don’t even know about yourself contact the gossip court.

Before I parade the rumoured aspirants, let me first of all applaud them, I don’t know what they all think about Ogoja chairmanship position, let me bring bad news for those who think it is a bread buttering position. Check the archive very well Ogoja is bewitched, I am yet to see a chairman coming out of the council living a better life like when he or she was before being a chairman, I am yet to see a person finishing as Ogoja LGA chairman with his or her good name intact, I am yet to see anyone finishing and remaining in good terms with major architect of his or her victory, I am yet to see a former Ogoja democratically elected Chairman heading a lucrative parastatal or board, I am yet to see any of them win a National Assembly position, it’s good morals to thank anybody who considers all this lacunas and still dare to quit his or her comfort zone to offer services to ungrateful people who will rather abuse you and throw mud at at you no matter how hard you try, I pray who ever takes the day breaks this seaming negative record.

Meet the gladiators —

1) Mr Leonard Afanga: 

he is rumoured to be contesting under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, he is currently the Chief Executive Officer of SYNERGY MINERAL GROUP LIMITED, he graduated from Department of Chemical Science in the prestigious University of Calabar. Very elegant and outspoken, very courageous with outstanding carriage he is  rumoured to have a record of bugging his audience with how travelled and connected he is, how he has used his offices to the betterment of the life of an average Ogoja youth is another big question begging for his answer, but generally he is a good man.

2) Sunday Ibol Itomisho:

He is a very good business man, an oil  merchant and vendor, very profit-oriented and cheerful; predicted to have a neophyte administrative experience he is rumoured to be the anointed candidate of the highest elected public office holder in Ogoja LGA, the greatest odd against him according to the judges in the gossip court is that he has indirectly inherited enemies of his rumoured godfather.

Generally he is a cheerful Giver.

3) Barr Paul Ugabi Ishabor:

lawyer by profession, graduate of the Lagos Business School, a former student leader, currently “Investment Promotion Manager” in CRS investment promotion, an investment expert, played a key role in actualisation of Spar, Songhai Farms, G. Electric,  Wilmar etc.

Versatile administrative experience with cognate knowledge in public/private sector partnership, he is kind hearted, accessible, humble, unassuming, large hearted and warm, seeming negative misgivings about his aspiration is the rumoured political untidiness in his household. 

4) Mr Joseph Peter Lifu:

accountant by profession, vibrant and very resourceful, perfect orator with outstanding oratory prowess, perfect gentle man.

A very experienced and disciplined civil servant who has put in a lot in service to our dear state, very audacious and easy going he appears to be suffering from political orphantry but before you write him off you may have to consider why flies don’t perambulate around the anus of a cow without a tail, what appears to be chanting against him is his age and the over-emphasized need for youths to begin to take over sensitive leadership position.

Finally, let me use this opportunity to call on my elder brother Modey Ugbuji the youth council chairman of Ogoja LGA to work hand in hand with Snr Comr Paul Ajie Abang and Jimmy Agba, P.A to the governor on youth and youth liaison officer Ogoja LGA respectively to come with a platform for youths to come together and share ideas as regards who wins our collective support to transform Ogoja LGA.

It’s detrimental to our growth and development as a people for us to continue to play the Ostrich, it is even more suicidal to our livelihood for us to allow a task of such magnitude in the hands of armchairs and briefcase youth organization.

Abang A Ogon.
Chairperson
Team “The Rest Of Us”.