The GYB phenomenon is undergoing its litmus test. It is the rave of the moment.
Everywhere in Lokoja is agog for the governor. The gunshots, the rallies and the monies are attending the tremor of campaigns.
They are shaking the heavens and the earth and the people are running to and fro, not certain if the direction is right.
But on Saturday it will be the real test of his electoral value as the people of Kogi State file out to empower a new governor. Will it be Governor Yahaya Bello (GYB) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) or will it be Musa Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP)?
The election is a crucial decider for the APC and the PDP, not because there are no other political parties contesting the election, but because the two parties have a high stake in the election that has both local and national implications.
The two parties at all levels are throwing all their financial and tactical wherewithal into the contest.
The winner takes all and the losers are damned. This is the philosophy driving the desperation of the election in Kogi State.
The activities of the other little known parties would be serving as weights either against or in favour of either of the two leading candidates.
In fact, there are 22 other political parties running for the governorship. Their own impacts have not been very effective, but they are not so ineffective to be ignored by the APC and the PDP.
Mr Bello became governor after the death of Abubakar Audu of the APC in the last governorship election. Mr Audu died just as the results were being collated, and the results declared showed he was coasting home to victory against the former governor, Idris Wada, of the PDP.
GYB was the runner up at the APC 2015 primaries. At the demise of Mr Audu, it became the decision of the party to hand the victory of Audu to Bello.
Not a few doubted that Mr Bello could win the election if he was the party’s flag bearer ab initio.
Howbeit, fate smiled on him and he inherited the deceased’s votes and became governor, as often said, on a platter.
The November 16, 2019 election is, therefore, his first real election to become governor and he would be riding on his own popularity and acceptance by the majority of the people of Kogi State.
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Controversial primaries

The APC and the PDP candidates both emerged from controversial primaries. The losers rocked the boats, but the leadership of the parties managed to maintain the peace.
The APC primaries held on Thursday, August 29 at the Confluence Stadium in Lokoja having 16 aspirants for the ticket.
They joined the race after paying N24 million each, one of the most expensive governorship forms in Nigeria’s political history.
After such a high cost, the Hope Uzodima-led screening committee cleared only nine of the 16 aspirants. The indirect primaries format was used against the demand of the majority of party members and aspirants.
As expected, Mr Bello scored about 90 per cent of the votes to be declared the winner of the primaries. Some of the aspirants disqualified joined other political parties to actualise their ambition.
PDP

The PDP primary was no less rancorous, even though it began peacefully. To avoid the APC mistake, the PDP cleared all its 13 aspirants who had parted with N24.5 million each as nomination fees.
On Monday, August 19, the delegations converged on the Confluence Stadium to elect their flag bearer. The exercise started peacefully, but midway into the exercise, hoodlums invaded the venue, scared away delegates and officials and left one person dead.
Governor Ahmed Fintiri of Adamawa State, who chaired the committee, managed to convene a meeting of all aspirants the following morning at the government lodge, where the rest of the processes were concluded and Mr Wada was declared the winner.