By Emmanuella Opara | November 13th 2026
KEY POINTS
- Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo says increased revenue allocation under President Bola Tinubu has enabled his administration to pay workers’ salaries promptly while executing infrastructure projects.
- The governor says higher revenue has strengthened the state’s ability to meet its financial obligations.
- Arewa for Asiwaju targets 701,600 votes in Kogi State ahead of the 2027 general elections.
- The group plans to mobilise voters through a grassroots structure covering all 3,508 polling units in the state.
MAIN STORY
Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, has attributed his administration’s ability to pay workers’ salaries promptly and execute infrastructure projects to increased revenue allocation under President Bola Tinubu’s government.
Ododo said the additional revenue available to the state had improved its capacity to meet financial obligations while sustaining infrastructure development.
The governor spoke on Friday during a meeting with members of Arewa for Asiwaju (A4A), Kogi State Chapter, at the Government House Banquet Hall in Lokoja.
He said the improved allocation had allowed the state to maintain salary payments without abandoning ongoing projects.
“We are paying salaries and still doing projects. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made it possible,” Ododo said.
The governor added that increased revenue had strengthened the state’s capacity to meet its obligations to workers while continuing infrastructure development.
The meeting also provided an opportunity for A4A to unveil its organisational structure and mobilisation strategy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The group’s State Coordinator, Abdulkareem Mohammed, popularly known as Asuku, said the organisation was targeting 200 votes from each polling unit in Kogi, with an overall target of 701,600 votes across the state’s 3,508 polling units.
He said the group had established a grassroots mobilisation structure extending from the state level to individual polling units, with 10 representatives and 10 women representatives assigned to each unit.
According to him, the organisation plans to conduct engagements across local government areas, spending several days in each location to promote the achievements of the Tinubu and Ododo administrations.
A4A also intends to use projects executed by the Kogi State Government with Federal Government support as part of its campaign message.
The group’s state executive structure includes Hon. Barikisu Ohunene Aliyu, Hon. Alfa Momoh Rabiu and Hon. Femi Stephen Owoniyi as deputy state coordinators for Kogi Central, East and West, respectively.
Hon. Yakubu Siaka Adabenege was named Director of Finance and Resource Mobilisation, while Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, was listed as Director of Communication and Media. Ahmadu Jibril will serve as Deputy Director of Communication and Media.
Other directorates cover women affairs, youth affairs, student affairs, business and professional affairs, religious affairs, traditional groups, operations and logistics, civil society, mobilisation, research and strategy.
Hon. Dr Anthony Edogbo was appointed State Secretary, with deputy directors designated across the three senatorial districts.
Those present at the meeting included former Kogi State Deputy Governor and South East Development Commission board member, Chief Edward Onoja; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Ali Bello; and Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Yusuf Umar Aliyu, alongside other political leaders and government officials.
THE ISSUES
Ododo’s remarks highlight the importance of increased federal allocations to state governments’ ability to meet recurrent expenditure and finance infrastructure projects.
However, the governor did not provide figures showing how much Kogi State currently receives in revenue allocation or how much of the additional revenue has been committed to salaries and capital projects.
The development also raises the broader question of how state governments are balancing increased revenue with the need to sustain public services and deliver infrastructure over the long term.
Politically, the A4A mobilisation target places the Tinubu and Ododo administrations’ performance at the centre of the group’s strategy ahead of the 2027 elections. Its target of 701,600 votes will depend on its ability to translate its organisational structure into actual voter support.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“We are paying salaries and still doing projects. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made it possible.”
Usman Ododo, Governor of Kogi State.
“We will embark on extensive grassroots engagements, moving from one local government area to another and spending days in each location to showcase the achievements of the Tinubu and Ododo administrations.”
Abdulkareem Mohammed, State Coordinator of Arewa for Asiwaju.
WHAT’S NEXT
A4A plans to begin extensive grassroots engagements across Kogi’s local government areas as it works towards its 2027 electoral target. The group intends to use the projects of the Tinubu and Ododo administrations as a major part of its mobilisation campaign.
BOTTOM LINE
Ododo says increased federal revenue allocation has improved Kogi’s ability to pay salaries and execute infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, a pro-Tinubu political group is seeking to convert the administrations’ record into electoral support, targeting more than 700,000 votes in the state in 2027.
