‘Insecurity, governance breakdown’ — group tells Tinubu to declare state of emergency in Kogi

The Movement for the Emancipation of Kogi State (MEKSTA) has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Kogi state, citing worsening security and governance crises.

In an open letter to the president, MEKSTA described Kogi as “going to the dogs”, warning that the state is on the brink of full-blown anarchy.

The group said Kogi is a strategic location, sharing borders with nine states and the federal capital territory (FCT), noting that any unrest there could spark wider instability.

MEKSTA accused Usman Ododo, governor of Kogi, of being a proxy for Yahaya Bello, his predecessor, and relatives, who allegedly maintain tight control over the state’s political machinery.

“True, governor Ahmed Usman Ododo is the face of governance in Kogi state. It is common knowledge, however, that very much like his colleague, Siminalayi Fubara in Rivers State, Ododo was wholly and totally installed by his immediate predecessor and consanguinal relative, Yahaya Bello,” the part of the letter reads.

“Very early in the life of his administration, Ododo announced to his constituents in Kogi Central that Bello’s word takes precedence over his on any and every issue.”

The group referenced a video showing newly elected members of the Kogi state house of assembly paying homage to Bello, who allegedly told them they were “invited to come and chop” and must act as “yes men”.

The group also raised concerns about Habibat Onumoko, the state’s accountant-general and another relative of Bello and Ododo, describing her as a “third force” in Kogi’s power structure.

MEKSTA criticised her rapid rise through civil service ranks and active political campaigning, which, it noted, has drawn condemnation from the Kogi Indigenous Progressive Union (KIPU).

“A dangerously uncanny dimension to the political harakiri in Kogi state is the recent emergence of a new extension to the Kogi state power dysfunction,” the group said.

“Habibat Oyiza Tijani Onumoko, accountant-general of the state, has become a veritable political ‘third force’, consummating the gubernatorial tripod of Ahmed Ododo, Yahaya Bello and Habibat Onumoko.

“All three of them are blood relatives from Ebiraland in Kogi State. Until the twilight of the Yahaya Bello term in office, Onumoko was a GL 12 officer in the Okene council area.

“Against extant civil service rules and conventions, she was accelerated through the rungs of director, acting permanent secretary and substantive permanent secretary, and then deployed to the local government service commission.

“Weeks after Ododo’s inauguration in 2024, Onumoko was appointed accountant-general of Kogi state!”

The group said security in the state has “deteriorated sharply”, citing a bandit attack in Kogi west where nearly a dozen police officers and vigilantes were killed.

The group also accused the state government of financial recklessness, noting inflated stipends for LG chairmen amid widespread poverty and underdevelopment.

MEKSTA said Tinubu should take decisive action to prevent further deterioration and restore order in the state.

“Mr President, the depth of official insensitivity, the width of financial recklessness, the span of state-enabled lawlessness, and the profundity of the crass impunity prevalent in Kogi state today is dangerously unacceptable and unbearable,” the group said.

“The people have been the butt of the species of sustained repression which has foisted a regime of ominous silence on the state.

“The potential volcanic portents of a spontaneous eruption will reverberate beyond the boundaries of the state.

“A surface wound is best managed before it degenerates into a festering sore, which could become gangrenous and require painful, disfiguring amputation.

“MEKSTA confirms we have reached this unfortunate crossroads in Kogi State. A desperate situation requires a desperate antidote.”

The letter was signed by prominent Kogi leaders, including Obafemi Medaiyese, Joseph Mebatonije, and others representing various federal constituencies in the state.