Onoja urges Nigerians to eschew ethnic differences »

The running mate to Governor Yahaya Bello in the November 16 governorship election in Kogi State, Chief Edward Onoja has called on Nigerians to put aside their ethnic differences and be more concerned about the capacity of individuals in governance.

Chief Onoja made the remark on Thursday in a meeting with some members of the Okun Development Association (ODA) and Traditional Rulers from Okun land in Government House, Lokoja.

He opined that the Nigerian problem had everything to do with tribalism “this government from word ‘go’ has tried to stop looking at the issue of where a person hails from, which is the Nigerian problem.”

“In advanced world, where you come from does not really matter. Little wonder, the advanced nations are way ahead of blacks. In Kogi State in particular, we need to begin to look at who can get the job done in line with the New Direction Government which has been our focus, because the governor is a detribalized leader.

Let’s put into cognizance more, the capacity and passion of individuals to deliver on a given assignment, rather than where they are from. In the Kogi, before the emergence of Governor Yahaya Bello, we were tearing ourselves apart, thank God things are no longer the same, we are more unified” he stressed.

Chief Onoja expressed delight in the leadership style of governor Bello which he maintained had succeeded in uniting the people, saying that the present administration focuses more on competence and credibility.

According to him, if the leadership style of governor Bello is embraced and sustained by all and sundry, a lot of states in the country would have a difficult time catching up with Kogi as a state.

He lamented how the Governor was willing and would have used his contacts to negotiate for the third position for an Okun man, Senator Smart Adeyemi at the senate, if he had won the election.

Chief Onoja who is currently, the chief of staff to governor Bello, thanked the governor for combating security challenges head-on in the state.

“If not for the leadership style of Governor Bello, who knows, perhaps Kogi State would have been likened to Taraba and Benue states, but here we are ranking as the second most safest state in Nigeria. All these happened because we have in Governor Yahaya Bello, a leader who knows the problems of the state and is not afraid to tackle them head on.” he concluded.