On Friday August 23, 2024, the Supreme Court, the highest judicial authority in the land, put a final seal on the mandate freely given to His Excellency, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, by the good people of Kogi State. It was a moment that called for celebration, a victory that many expected would be marked with loud jubilation and political fanfare.

But while well-wishers converged on his Abuja residence, eager to celebrate with him, the Governor had already chosen a different path. Rather than bask in the glow of triumph, he was on his way to Jalingo, Taraba State, to stand by a friend, Governor Agbu Kefas, who was giving his daughter, Keziah Kefas, in marriage to her beloved, Bitrus Jnr Josiah Habu.

It was a decision that spoke volumes. In a moment when many would have chosen applause, Governor Ododo chose loyalty. Where others would have embraced celebration, he embraced friendship.

Naturally, some who had gathered in Abuja felt disappointed. But leadership is often revealed in choices made away from the spotlight. Governor Ododo’s presence in Jalingo was not for politics, it was personal, human, and deeply principled.

At the time, Governor Kefas was a member of the PDP, and several of his colleagues across the country attended the ceremony. A group photograph of the governors present soon surfaced. In that image stood Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, the only APC governor in a gathering dominated by PDP leaders.

That single image became the raw material for mischief. Merchants of falsehood went to work. They spun a narrative of convenience, claiming that a clandestine PDP Governors’ meeting had taken place in Jalingo, and that Governor Ododo’s presence signaled an imminent defection.

Influencers were recruited, falsehoods were amplified, and a coordinated attempt was made to distort reality and discredit a Governor whose only “offense” was honoring a friendship.

But truth, no matter how momentarily suppressed, has a way of asserting itself. Unknown to the peddlers of fiction, Governor Ododo was not drifting toward the PDP, he was, in fact, engaging his friend, Governor Kefas, in conversations about the strength and future of the All Progressives Congress. While they manufactured stories, he was shaping realities.

Their narrative was weak. And before it could gain traction, it was dismantled by facts. After all, who abandons the largest political party in Africa for one struggling to hold its ground?

Today, that same photograph tells a very different story, one that history itself is beginning to validate.

In that frame were governors from Delta, Bayelsa, Taraba, Enugu, Plateau, Adamawa, Zamfara, Osun, and Bauchi, alongside the then Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki. And there, firmly standing his ground, was Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, the lone APC figure in a sea of opposition.

Fast forward to today, and the tides have shifted remarkably. Edo State is now under APC leadership, following the emergence of Governor Monday Okpebholo. Governors from Delta, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Zamfara, Enugu, Plateau, and Taraba have all moved into the APC fold, aligning with the very political family Governor Ododo represented in that moment. Only Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi remains, while even Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun has distanced himself from the PDP.

What was once framed as political isolation has now become a symbol of political foresight.
That photograph, once weaponized by falsehood, has become a historic snapshot, one that will find its place in the evolving story of the APC’s growth and consolidation across Nigeria.

It is therefore curious, though not surprising, that those who once shouted loudest about that image have suddenly fallen silent. Reality has overtaken propaganda. Time has exposed fiction. And truth, as always, has prevailed.

Let us now revisit that moment with clarity. Let us speak of it not as a controversy, but as a testament.

A testament to conviction.
A testament to loyalty.
A testament to leadership that attracts, inspires, and ultimately transforms.
Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has proven to be more than a participant in Nigeria’s political landscape, he is a force within it. A magnet drawing strength, alignment, and momentum toward a growing political movement. His loyalty to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR is total and uncompromising.

Grace has spoken. The APC is expanding. And history is already taking notes.
Congratulations to His Excellency, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, the Magnet.

Kerry Haruna