His Excellency Chief Edward David Onoja is a man of great destiny, he is the current deputy governor of Kogi State. He is an Igala by tribe,
Christian, seasoned banker, philanthropist, geologist, administrator, and dependable politician. Hon. Onoja is tolerant, meek, fastidious, stupendous, affable, humble and amiable. He is generally loved by all, full of simplicity.
He is a bridge -builder, an adorable personality, always engrossed in solving societal problems and enjoys creating wealth for the less privileged. And he is absolutely loyal to his boss, Governor Yahaya Bello, Kogites and to the All Progressives Congress (APC), a political party he fully supported and which equally brought him to fame.
Chief Onoja, the Odidoko-Emonyoku born politician is a leader that believes in human development and he works towards achieving happiness for those who care to meet him. In the build-up to 2015 Presidential Elections, Edward became Project Director of the Kogi Youths Arise Group (KYAG) under the Chairmanship and Sponsorship of Alhaji Yahaya Bello, now the 4th Executive Governor of Kogi State.
The group mobilized thousands of Youths to campaign for the Change Agenda of the APC in Kogi State and beyond. They were instrumental in delivering the State for the APC, which contributed in no small measure to the ultimate victory of their mentor and role model, President Muhammadu Buhari.Later that same year, Edward became Head of Campaigns and Chief Strategist for the Alhaji Yahaya Bello Campaign Organization.
He led a team of hitherto unknown, but equally passionate, youngsters into all the nooks and crannies of canvassing for his candidate. The rest is history. The APC defeated an incumbent PDP governor to make Yahaya Bello the 4th Executive Governor of Kogi State. Edward Onoja currently serves as the deputy governor to His Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Bello.Edward Onoja was appointed the Director-General, APC Campaigns for the 2019 General re-elections in Kogi State. He discharged that assignment with unprecedented results. Edward again returned as the Director-General of APC Campaigns for the 2019 Kogi State Gubernatorial Elections on November 16th. From his earliest youth Edward Onoja has simply demonstrated his love for the people around him. In the banking sector, he was instrumental in giving several Kogi citizens the opportunity to serve and work with the financial world in different capacities over the years till date.
He used his position throughout his professional life to facilitate assistance he could muster for many citizens of Kogi State.As the then Chief of Staff to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Edward Onoja has facilitated high-ranking appointments for hundreds of Kogians into government.He also used the office and the goodwill of his boss, Alhaji Yahaya Bello to facilitate thousands of civil service jobs for persons of Kogi State origin at federal, state and local government levels.
Through Edward Onoja hundreds of others have been fixed into dignified employments in the private sector. Also, hundreds of indigent Kogites with life-threatening ailments have been treated through the good offices of Edward Onoja and his boss at their own expenses.Vehicles have been donated to many elders and community leaders in the state who have been long forgotten. Scores of them are serving as salaried members of the Elders Advisory Councils in their constituencies, thus enjoying a new lease of life.Edward has helped to attract many infrastructural developments especially to Igala land which all can attest to. Across Igala land, from Dekina to Ankpa to Idah to Olamaboro to Omala to Igalamela/Odolu to Ofu to Ibaji there are scores of ongoing or completed roads, schools health centres, bridges, erosion management sites, electricity and water projects which have the finger-prints of Edward Onoja on them but with the approval of Governor Yahaya Bello. Edward Onoja was appointed the Chairman of the Project Light Up Kogi East (PLUKE) which the Governor inaugurated the day he came to commission the Igala Unity House, at least 200 communities in Igala land will be connected or on the way to being connected to the national grid.Under the same canopy of responsibility to the Igala race, he has galvanized efforts to build two Guest Houses in Ayingba and Ankpa respectively for the apex father of the Igala race, His Royal Majesty, the Attah Igala, which is to help him to palatial rest and access to his children as he travels round his kingdom. Edward is an advocate of interfaith harmony, he has helped to build the central Mosque and the United Evangelical Church, both in Okpo.
He has also donated over 10 evangelism buses to Christian denominations and clergymen in Igala land.What we have seen different under the able leadership of Alh. Yahaya Bello is his wisdom to have mentored men and women of integrity under his leaders.
The Coalition of Opposition Candidates for the Kogi State House of Assembly Kogi East Senatorial district that participated in the just concluded election for the house of assembly, after due consultation and investigation amongst all the aspirants in all the political parties have resolved and endorsed the aspiration of Dr. Edward David Onoja, the current deputy governor of Kogi State as the most outstanding individual to lead State after His Excellency Alh. Yahaya Bello.
Their reasons as canvassed by them are not sentimental, devoid of religion, ethnicity and sectionalism.The major problem that has deviled Kogi State leadership since 1999 has been lack of succession plans on whom to hand over to after the end of each tenure.The Coalition is hereby drumming support for Chief (Dr.) Edward Onoja to become the next governor of Kogi State. Our position Your Excellency is without any iota of sentiments, neither doing this because of political benefits but essentially to guide this administration on the way forward because of what we’ve seen in other climes it’s important that the person you hand over to is a man that can stand the test of time, a man that cannot betray you when the going gets tough and the man we’re recommending and presenting to you is your deputy governor,
Dr. Edward David Onoja.After careful study of this administration for the past 7years or thereabout, we make bold to suggest that Dr. Edward David Onoja as the most capable to take over from you in view of the following reasons.The choice of His Excellency Edward David Onoja as the most qualified and the man closer to you in terms of the direction policy of your administration, we considered him as the best mentored individual under your leadership, as your former Chief of Staff and now a Deputy Governor under the New Direction policy, we also discovered that you’ve tested his loyalty and found him reliable and capable for the task ahead.Chief Edward David Onoja was a co-pilot of the journey to Lugard House in 2015, who believed strongly in Alhaji Yahaya Bello ability to win the governorship seat but which many people believed he could never achieve, his resilience and dexterity eventually came to pass, today Alh. Yahaya Adoza Bello is the Executive Governor of Kogi State.
This is not to be misconstrued that Onoja made him the governor, but a combination of other able men and women contributed massively to make the dream realistic, finally God was involved.In our opinion, he’s properly processed, mentored, tested, trusted and reliable, you can go bed with your two closed.His competence, capacity and character is unparalleled by the grace of God, he’s not known to us as a man that can easily be swayed by wealth or mundane sentiments without verification, above all he’s an ardent believer in God.Our prayer is God to help our governor in this Ramadan period to anoint a man after God’s heart for Kogi State in the next dispensation.He has emulated and demonstrated what has become an in-built character in him by imbibing or inheriting from his mentor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello who is known for project execution throughout the State by a ways of building mosques, and churches even as a Moslem, your legacies will be sustained if Chief Edward David Onoja is given the desired support by the governor, his GYB Team and Kogites this will bring progress to Kogi State.Onoja is a refined gentleman who is always working hard to be the best in whatever role given to him to play. His Excellency, Chief Onoja is an uncommon strategist who is a practitioner of the detribalized ideology of the governor. With Hon. Edward Onoja, Governor Bello is working with one of the best hands in the state. His superlative attributes have endeared him to the youths, women, artisans, indigents and the majority of Kogites. One unique attribute of Chief Edward Onoja is that he was born to serve humanity and he has continually insist he would never deviate from it.Generally speaking, as one of the arrowheads of the New Direction Administration of Governor Yahaya Bello, Edward Onoja through humble and faithful service to his boss has earned plenty of goodwill with the Governor which he deploys to every part of the State. With this backgrounds, he deserves to succeed his boss, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.In view of the analysis, and many other qualities of the deputy governor that cannot fully be discussed here, we, the members of the Coalition of Opposition Candidates for the Kogi State House of Assembly from Kogi East humbly endorse his aspiration for you and all delegates to see reasons to massively work for the actualization of a true mentored public servant named Edward David Onoja.
Hon. Tijani Haruna (Secretary) Coalition of Opposition Candidates for the Kogi State House of Assembly, Kogi East Senatorial District.