Heavy Weight  on Ododo

The drama began with a headline: reports that traditional rulers in Okunland had rejected Governor Ahmed Ododo’s re-election bid. Within hours, the story took on a life of its own as it was echoed on the radio, stretched across WhatsApp groups, and dissected in beer parlours from Kabba to Isanlu.

By nightfall, the Okun Area Traditional Council pushed back. No ruler, they said, had endorsed or rejected anyone. Their only recent meeting was on security, not politics. The report, they warned, was fiction packaged as news. Yet, in the public mind, where smoke curls, fire normally follows.

Ododo’s relationship with Okunland was already delicate. According to critics, the governor has yet to balance the scales of development. They point to Kogi Central’s steady stream of projects, including roads, offices, and infrastructure, while Okunland waits. To them, Ododo’s government feels distant, and its attention is unevenly spread.

Security worsens the tension. Kidnapping and banditry have crept into the hills and highways. Farmers stay home. Traders close early. Community leaders, once patient, now write open letters demanding stronger action. The silence from Lokoja, they argue, amplifies their frustration.

Appointments have also drawn scrutiny. Key positions remain clustered around familiar political strongholds. Okun elites whisper about exclusion, a feeling that their loyalty earns little return. The government insists otherwise, citing projects like the new university in Kabba and renovated clinics, but those gestures have yet to quiet the mood.

The traditional council’s statement, sharp and deliberate, was less about Ododo and more about boundaries. The monarchs wanted no part in the theatre of power. Yet, their disavowal only sharpened public curiosity: if the kings won’t speak, who will defend the governor’s case in Okunland?

It is very normal for politics in Kogi to turn on perception. And in Okunland today, perception weighs heavier than proof. Therefore, Ododo’s challenge is not the rumour itself but the sentiment that made it believable. And whether this will really affect his re-election bid is something the rest of us will see.