By joshua 
Kogi Central 2027: The Rematch That Will Redefine Ebira Politics
By Abu Micheal
Kogi Central is bracing for a contest that promises to be louder, richer, and more personal than 2023. Back then, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the PDP edged out Sen. Abubakar Ohere of the APC in a race decided months later by the courts.
In 2027, the script has changed. Former Governor Yahaya Bello, who lost as a sitting governor, now flies the APC flag as a private citizen but with Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo’s full machinery behind him. If 2023 was tense, 2027 looks like a political earthquake in slow motion.
The ground has shifted in ways both sides cannot ignore. Natasha won five of six LGAs in 2023 on slim margins, holding on through strong numbers in parts of Ganaja, Geregu Ward, Ajaokuta. Bello lost, but he learned.
Today he’s moving house-to-house during Sallah, visiting homes of former critics who now acknowledge that Governor Ododo has addressed concerns they raised under the last administration.
Two things that hurt APC in 2023 have eased. Primary school teachers and civil servants, who stood as a wedge against the party, now cite prompt salary payments as reason for calmer nerves. The insecurity that once defined Central has reduced, and Ododo’s quiet, unassuming governance style has disarmed opposition without force. In politics, perception is power.
Bello enters 2027 with receipts he lacked as an incumbent. Roads across LGAs got facelifts. He delivered the Kogi Reference Hospital Okene and Confluence University Osara, now growing fast enough to rival Prince Abubakar Audu University Anyigba. For the first time in a decade, Heads of Service have come from Central. More Ebira sons and daughters now own houses in GRA Lokoja than before. Appointments plus visible projects have built what Bello’s camp calls a “liberation narrative.” That emotional pitch may matter more than policy papers.
But fault lines remain. Ogori-Magongo felt neglected under Bello and their votes were crucial for Natasha in 2023. Returning the House of Assembly seat to Ogori is a gesture, but protest votes in Magongo’s four wards could still bite. Ajaokuta and Ganaja have always been APC’s headache, yet the emergence of the first Ganaja Chairman in Ajaokuta and new infrastructure like motorized boreholes, the first public junior and senior school, and a primary health centre are changing the conversation. The Steel Complex is still unresolved, but “betterment” is now APC’s message.
Party discipline is tighter too. In 2023, APC appointees worked against the party openly and secretly. That won’t repeat. Figures like Accountant General Hajia Habibat Onumoko are already mobilizing. And money will talk. State resources plus Bello’s personal war chest mean 2027 will be funded at a level 2023 never saw. Natasha’s financial edge then looks uncertain now.
Kogi Central voters don’t choose names alone. They choose dignity, access, and who remembers them. Bello is banking on memory and machinery. Natasha is banking on her Senate record and the appeal of independent voice.
Whoever wins, the margin will be slim. The impact will be generational. 2027 is not 2023. It is a rematch, and Ebira land is watching.
Abu Micheal, Journalist, Publisher, Member ANIPR, MNIM, Editorial Board Member, Guild of Interfaith Media Practitioners Nigeria, MCIA.