His election was the very first to be nullified in the country. Ordinarily, people would think the man at the centre of it all would be completely shattered, but Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, the re-elected governor of Kogi State never lost any sleep over that. So, he said. And unlike many others who found themselves in his shoes, he neither raised his voice against the members of the Kogi State Election Tribunal nor accused them of bias.

His reason: He knew he would be back at the Lugard House. His optimism stemmed from the fact that not only did he discharge his duties as governor creditably, he also did not consider his main opponent and former governor of the state, Prince Abubakar Audu as posing any serious threat to his ambition. Like he did in 2003, Idris had this strong conviction that he would beat Audu. Indeed, as he put it, “I told everyone that if Audu contested 10 times against me, I would defeat him 10 times over.”

Despite the hue and cry by the Audu camp, he told Daily Sun that the re-scheduled gubernatorial election in the state where he beat Audu with a wide margin was free and fair and its outcome should not be a surprise to anyone because he had always known that Audu was a spent force. “Kogi State is essentially a PDP state and with the kind of opposition I had, there was no shaking for me.”

With the election over, a highly elated Idris visited Aso Rock, Abuja to thank President Umaru Yar’Adua for what he said was the president’s encouragement and attendance of his (Idris) last major rally in the state capital, Lokoja. Having being sworn in afresh for a new four-year term, he said it was time to put the past behind him and forge ahead. He is preaching reconciliation with all opponents in the interest of the development state and the well-being of the people.

He is determined, he said, to ensure that his return to the seat of power will bring about permanent peace in the state. Accordingly, he has pleaded with all the stakeholders to eschew bitterness and join hands with him in the task of tackling the state’s developmental problems.

“We just have to come together, not for me, but for our people and our state. That is why I’am saying we must put the past behind us and match forward. It is very important that there is peace in the state. I have actually sent people to the opponents that we are members of the same family. We need to work together to develop Kogi State and make it a safe and enviable state for everybody,” he stated.

But is it possible for him and Audu to reconcile and be friends, considering the animosity, accusations and counter-accusations between them before the election? The governor replied: “What is impossible about it? We are all human beings. If I see him today, I will still see him as a brother. I mean, all we have done is just politics. That should not turn us into being enemies.”

Reminded that Audu had signified his intention to again contest his election in the tribunal, he said he welcomed the decision, as there was nothing wrong with it. It was natural, he explained, for Audu to feel the way he is feeling after he was roundly defeated at the polls.
But that does not remove the fact that the election was free and fair, he added.