Only two months remain until the Kogi governorship election and ten political parties have "collapsed their structures" in support of Admiral Jibrin Usman of the Accord Party. This was said by Usman, a former chief of the naval staff, on Thursday in Abuja. Senator Dino Melaye (PDP), a former member from Kogi West, and Usman Ododo (APC) are all running for governor as well. The candidate for the Accord Party expressed confidence that the "merger" would ensure his victory in the election. "We have all witnessed the consequences of the agreement reached between a few parties that gave rise to the All Progressives Congress.

Merging parties is not a terrible thing. It is legal under the Constitution, Usman added. "If, for example, my party decides to combine with another party, there is nothing wrong with it. You might find it interesting to hear that my party has amalgamated with ten other political parties, and my state party chairman has accepted them. There are ten parties with me; some of them are resolute, but some have come to me and asked for more time. Usman observed that the deplorable living circumstances of the people necessitate a fresh sense of direction in the state's political leadership. Usman claimed to have recently returned from a visit to 27 districts in Kogi East.

"We visited Kogi East and traveled through 27 districts. We observed a high degree of decadence, a lack of infrastructure for efficient growth, and the fact that the Kogi people were truly struggling during the visit. Therefore, a paradigm change is required. It is our responsibility to protect our people from the corrupt leadership. He named security as one of the issues that has to be resolved in order to make the state safer for both natives and residents.

 "The level of security in Kogi State at the moment is not very impressive. People in the state are unable to get any shut-eye. We are dealing with a lot of abduction, political killings, and thuggery in Kogi State. Many individuals are losing their lives as a result of poverty. Lack of employment is the cause of the crime we see in Kogi. The young people struggle mightily to make ends meet. Many of them are university graduates who are jobless. This is why many of them are hired as political thugs by their political masters, he claimed.

Shouldn't he coordinate with the proper security agencies to seek deployment to give it a check in his capacity as the state's senior security officer? If we are there, we will know which agencies to contact," he continued. The well-being of Kogi State's government workers is one of the areas in which the former navy commander will intervene if elected governor. "The situation of the government servants is pitiful. The employees of Kogi State are viewed as beggars, and they don't deserve to go through what they are going through right now. From 25% to 50% of their wages are paid as percentages. Is that sufficient to feed someone?