It has emerged that Senator Attai Aidoko has resorted to constituting a group of nine wise men purportedly to checkmate what he refers to as “distrust and anti-party activities” of some party members. This, many say, may be a fallout of the discouraging body language of a majority of the divisional party chairmen whom the senator appreciated for enhancing the impunity that offered him the contentious senatorial candidacy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
At a meeting which held in Lokoja and had Timothy Omora, Ndah Paddy, Hon Igagwu, Hon Abdulkarim, Hon Ohiemi, Elder Okwuoche and Hon MM Oseni representing Ankpa, Dekina, Ofu, Bassa, Olamaboro, Ibaji and Igalamela, respectively, Aidoko apologised for his dismal performance in the past 16 years. He, however, promised to do better this time around if elected. He professed the benefits of returning as a “ranking senator” with a possibility of becoming the next Senate president and the huge benefits accruable to the Igala people therefrom.
One of those who attended the meeting and who spoke conditionally laughed the senator off as a “mega joke” whom they only see during election periods, adding that “the next election is not about any party but about the entire Igala nation and like Saul in the Bible, God has left him.”
The group of nine wise men was charged with the task of cascading down to the wards and units to drum support for Aidoko with messages along two lines. One, a vote for Atiku Abubakar and Aidoko and two, push the All Progressives Congress (APC) out at all cost but through the PDP platform.
Before the Lokoja meeting, Aidoko had held several meetings in Abuja with group after group and person and after person all in a bid to obtain their sympathy and support. Unfortunately, what is said after such meetings implies that his interventions are not making any impact.
Even more, the message Senator Aidoko and his cohorts do not seem to get is that the Igala/Bassa people are saying “our mumu don do” and that political parties are merely a vehicle. Whether or not Aidoko would have his way on this occasion is left to be seen and February 16, 2019 is the date.