Uzodinma, Diri, Melaye, Bello, Ododo, Others Test Political Might In Today's Guber Polls In Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi States
The manner of their emergence, most people have argued, was controversial because it did not come through the ballot, but through the courts.
The duo of Hope Uzodinma and Douye Diri -- both former senators -- had suddenly found themselves thrust into the positions of governors in their respective states of Imo and Bayelsa on the back of court rulings and have had to work twice as hard ever since to convince the people that they merited the positions, the manner of their emergence notwithstanding.
In almost four years of being at the helm, they have tried to endear themselves to the people by initiating programmes and policies that directly improved their living standards.
It is now the turn of the same people, this Saturday, to respond to these gestures by either voting them in for a second term in office or voting them out.
For the first time, both governors will be expected to finally rid themselves of the uncomplimentary toga of 'Supreme Court Governors' by winning convincingly at the polls to earn the right to retain their seats for a second four-year term in office. For them, the stakes are high when the stature of opposition is considered.
Uzodinma who has managed to navigate the landmines of hostilities placed in his path by groups like IPOB and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) to achieve relative peace and stability in the state must now, again, overcome the fresh hurdle of opposition to retain his seat.
If the results of the last presidential elections where his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled a total of 66,171 votes to come a distant second behind the Labour Party is a yardstick to measure his popularity, then it can be safe to say he faces an uphill task of beating the same opposition this Saturday.
Peter Obi, flying the flag of the Labour Party had swept to a landslide victory with a massive 352, 904 votes to Uzodinma's paltry 66,171 votes for his party's presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu (GCON) in last February's General Elections.
This pattern of voting had also extended to the National Assembly elections as the Labour Party had a fieled day, riding roughshod over the APC.
Although the results of a recent poll puts him ahead all other contenders in the race for the state's number one office, he still needs to prove his popularity by defeating his opponents today.
Uzodinma faces another crunch battle against key opponents, Attan Achonu of the Labour Party and PDP's Senator Samuel Anyanwu as he seeks to win his first real elections as governor
BAYELSA STATE
In Bayelsa State, it is a straight fight between incumbent governor, Douye Diri, representing the PDP and one-time governor, Timipre Sylva of the APC.
Diri, who like Uzodinma rose to governorship prominence via a court ruling in 2020 must overcome the threat posed by Sylva, the country's immediate past minister of state for petroleum to retain his seat for the next four years.
Sylva who appeared hard done by by the interplay of political forces that scuppered his second term ambition in the era of Dr Goodluck Jonathan as president feels he owes it to himself and posterity that he runs his eight-year course as governor of Bayelsa State.
The English graduate has often seen his miss of a second term as an unfinished business. This has continued to fuel his desire to take a shot at the governorship again and again.
Will this finally be his breakthrough or his swansong?
Sylva, himself, hasn't had a smooth ride in his quest to become governor as he has had to answer questions centred on his performance during his first stint in office, as well as a recent court judgement which declared him ineligible to contest.
Analysts say the court decision, though recently upturned on appeal, may have come too late to spark life back to a campaign machinery that had been temporarily grounded following the initial ruling.
Keen political watchers also see it as an ominous sign the lack of sufficient support Sylva is getting from the APC, his party -- the ruling party at the centre -- saying it could prove a major setback in his bid to return as governor of the state.
In contrast, Diri appears to be coasting as he luxuriates in all the attention he presently gets from prominent Nigerians.
In recent weeks, the likes of former governor, Seriake Dickson (now a senator), Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, former presidents, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr Goodluck Jonathan have all said encouraging things about Diri to further tilt the scales in his favour.
But past elections watchers are insistent that the real test of Diri's popularity will come at the polls, and not from endorsements from either present or past leaders.
Bayelsa State, nicknamed the 'Glory of All Lands,' is known to have the least number of Local Government Council Areas in Nigeria with just eight.
Previously elected governors have had to conquer the Ijaw South Local Government said to be the state's key battleground on account of it's numerical strength and strategic relevance to the politics of the state.
Diri or his number one rival, Sylva know the importance of winning this single largest enclave of Ijaws in Bayelsa State to coast home to victory.
The clock is ticking...
KOGI STATE
Unlike in Bayelsa and Imo where current state chief executives are seeking re-elections, voters will be thronging various polling booths this Saturday, looking to vote in a new chief executive in Kogi State.
The battle is between Dino Melaye of the PDP and Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo of the APC.
Melaye, a former senator prides himself as the one who is most qualified to take over from the outgoing Yahaya Bello as governor when he leaves early next year.
Bello may be winding up his eight-year tenure, but like most departing governors before him, he is anxious to leave behind a handpicked successor.
Ododo, the one who it seems he has anointed may not have the political pedigree of Melaye, his opponent, but he expects the support of Bello to count for something on election day.
Melaye, aside his popularity gained from years of being in the political trenches, first, as a member of the House of Representatives, then, as a senator of the Federal Republic, and most recently, an important figure in former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar's presidential campaign team, the PDP candidate is riding on the crest of sympathy of a section of the people who want a governor from the Kogi West Senatorial District on grounds of fairness and equity.
With the Igalla and Igbirra ethnic groups having had a taste of the governorship since the state's creation, the people from the Kabba-speaking region of the state also now want a governor to balance the power equation in the state.
Should Melaye, who hails from Ayetoro Gbede Local Government Area (in Kogi West Senatorial District) go on to win the elections today, he would have succeeded in satisfying that particular craving from that section of the state.
However, political analysts believe that Bello who has had a frosty relationship with Melaye since his early days in office would do everything to ensure that former state's auditor-general, Usman Ododo, his protege and ally, succeeds him.
But the recent drama of Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who despite serious opposition to her emergence, still went on to nick the Kogi Central Senatorial seat ahead of Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere, Bello's preferred candidate, after a bitter court battle is sufficient reason to believe that this particular election will be keenly contested.
There is every possibly it could go either way.
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