Kogi: Why Natasha Is A Threat To Bello

By Emmanuel Aziken

When the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC initially disqualified Natasha Akpoti, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP from the election there were few guesses as to the motif of the regulatory body.

The election regulator had claimed that her initial running mate failed to meet the minimum age requirement required to contest.

However, when Natasha and her party resolved the issue and changed the candidate, the commission failed to accept the new running mate leading to accusations of compromise by the commission.

For a commission whose credibility was so battered by its conduct of the 2019 General Election, the matter of Natasha was an ugly reminder to the foibles of the commission.

In the end the court asserted Natasha’s right to contest.

But by the her candidacy was revalidated, her momentum had lowered as those who initially looked to her had settled on other candidates in the election.

Natasha had blamed her disqualification on Governor Yahaya Bello, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC. According to her the governor worked in concert with the commission to distablise her campaign.

WHAT BELLO GAINS FROM NATASHA’S EXCLUSION

Her participation ordinarily should have been welcome to Bello given that it would have further split the opposition to him.

However, Natasha was a different kettle of fish, a hot potato for the Bello campaign.

As the campaign entered the final stretch at the beginning of the week, the Kogi State governorship election predictably veered towards ethnic jingoism.

The Igala who constitute about 50% of the population were rallying towards the PDP candidate, Engr. Musa Wada who is Igala. The Ebira who by stroke of luck got the governorship after the death of Prince Abubakar Audu constitute about 20% of the population and would not by any imagination challenge the population of the Igala.

So, the Ebira needed to rally fully behind Bello. \and so when an Ebira daughter like Natasha surfaced to divide the ethnic vote she immediately turned into a threat for the Bello campaign.

However, the presumption of ethnic jingoism as the cause of the repeated attacks on Natasha is yet to be proved as the police as at press time is yet to report on who attacked and razed her campaign offices.

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