MEKSTA Accuses Kogi Government of Political Plot to Divide Okun Traditional Rulers Ahead of 2027 Polls

(Alhaji Ahmed Tijani Anaje. Photo by Muslim Voice Nigeria)

A group, the Movement for the Emancipation of Kogi State (MEKSTA), has called on traditional rulers in Okunland to avoid being weaponised as instruments of instability and division within their communities.

The group urged the monarchs to emulate the example of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ahmed Tijani Anaje, who recently told a politician seeking his backing against rivals that the traditional stool compels royals to be impartial fathers to all.

MEKSTA called on the rulers to resist any pressure from the government to sow political discord among their subjects, and alleged that plans were underway to foment division in Kogi West District ahead of the announcement of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates for the 2027 elections.

The group further alleged that the government had summoned traditional rulers from the six Okun-speaking local government areas in the district to a meeting in Lokoja, the state capital, and that senior monarchs had been asked to mobilise other royals to attend. MEKSTA described the development as part of a coordinated move against Senator representing Kogi West, Sunday Steve Karimi.

In a statement, MEKSTA said the meeting was designed to exploit a video in which some chiefs from Egbe, in Yagba West council area Senator Karimi’s home made allegations against him, describing the gathering as a continuation of earlier efforts to position one Samuel Bamidele Aro, also from Yagba West, as an alternative to Karimi ahead of 2027.

The group characterised Aro as a reluctant aspirant who had allegedly withdrawn his senatorial ambition in writing before the primary held on May 18, 2026, and had publicly pledged support for Karimi.

MEKSTA criticised the government for pursuing what it termed needless division rather than rallying the people of Kogi West against the threat posed by b@ndits, k!dn@ppers and criminal elements ravaging the area.

“At a time like this, the people need the empathy of the state and the rekindling of their confidence to keep them through the trying times, and not the wilful orchestration of discord and disunity amongst them,” the group said.

MEKSTA described Senator Karimi as selfless, accessible, pragmatic and effective, asserting that he had made a profound impact on Kogi West in three years in the Senate, evidenced by over 51,000 APC members across 85 wards unanimously endorsing his return.

The group declared Karimi the APC’s candidate of choice for Kogi West in the 2027 general elections, warning that any attempt to dislodge him would amount to an attack on the party’s standing in the zone and risk alienating the Okun-Yoruba speaking bloc from the goodwill of President Bola Tinubu.