Intense lobbying begins as Buhari moves to fill Kogi ministerial slot

Ahead of the appointment of a new minister that will represent Kogi State in the Federal Executive Council, interested persons have commenced intense lobbying.
Barrister James Ocholi, the Minister of State for Labour, who represented the state in the FEC before now, died in a ghastly motor accident last year.
Leaders of Kogi West, Kogi East and Kogi Central Senatorial Districts are said to have
intensified lobbying within the power caucus in Abuja as the indication emerged that President Muhammadu Buhari is set to name the replacement in the new month.
It was gathered that no fewer than six names have been penciled down for consideration by the Presidency.
Sources said while some of the candidates are going through the leaders of the All Progressives Congress, others are seeking the way out through some influential faces close to the Presidential Villa.
A source close to the administration said the names of at least two candidates from each of the geopolitical zones have been received at the Villa.
It was gathered that the names of Senator Alex Khadiri and Senator Mohammed Dangana from Kogi East are said to have been received, while Senator Mohammed Ohiare is mentioned from Kogi Central.
The names of Hon. Clarence Olorunfemi and Chief Gbenga Ashagun were said to have been mentioned for Kogi West.
Some loyalists of the APC in the state are said to have argued that the party should reward loyalty ahead of new entrants to the party in filing appointive positions, but a source in the administration said the President does not see political appointments as payback cheques for party loyalty.
“The President believes that competence rather than party loyalty should be the basis of critical appointments and he has always insisted that he is concerned about those who can perform in office rather than the length of stay in the party,” a source in the know said.
It was gathered that the Presidency is however in a dilemma as to which of the senatorial zones should produce the ministerial slot.
While Kogi East believes that the new Minister should fill the slot of the area, which produced the late Ocholi, others are of the view that the zone has held too many key positions reserved for Kogi State in recent years.
For instance, the zone currently has the Deputy Governor, while it has also produced Humphrey Abba and Gabriel Adiukwu as Ministers under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, while the Central zone produced Mohammed Adoke, who served as Minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The dilemma of the administration is said to have been further compounded by the emerging fact that with the use of Card Readers for elections, the gap in the voting capacity of each of the three senatorial districts stands at about 15,000.
This indicates that the three Districts are almost evenly yoked in terms of voting strength and an indication that the three zones must be carefully carried along, a source stated.