Governor Idris Wada of Kogi, has said that his ambition to govern the state for a second term was thwarted by the death of Alhaji Abubakar Audu.
The late Audu was the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Nov. 22, 2015 poll.
Wada said that the death of Audu, who he described as `my long-time friend’ made him realise that nothing was left again as far as the governorship election was concerned.
The governor made the statement on Thursday in Lokoja when newsmen asked him to recount his experience when he leant of Audu’s demise.
“I immediately surrendered to fate and the Almighty God,” the outgoing governor said.
He said that his decision to go to court to challenge the victory of the APC was to show leadership and get the matter resolved constitutionally in the interest of the state and Nigeria.
“Whatever is the outcome, life goes on. It is not about I must have a second term, I needed to show leadership and that is it, “he explained.
He said that his administration would honour the late Audu by naming a project after him before the expiration of his tenure on Jan. 27.
Wada stated that issues surrounding the Nov. 21 governorship election in the state were complex.
He said that he was of the opinion that there was a grand conspiracy to embarrass him and deny his people their right to cast their vote for him due to malfunctioning of card readers.
“As a pilot, I faced life threatening situations many times but handled them calmly. I don’t allow emotions to override me,” he said.
He said that he exhibited the same attitude during and after the conduct of the election.
“If I come back again, I will be more careful in selecting the people that I will work with, “he said, in reference to insinuations that he lost the poll due to his political appointees and other people around him.
He said that his mission to transform the state was successful going by the number of projects he executed, the number of people affected positively and increased revenue base of the state.
Wada said that he would provide details of ongoing projects in the state in his hand over note.
He said that interact with incoming governor on the need for him to complete the projects. (NAN)
