President Bola Tinubu has called on the people of Kogi West Senatorial District to maintain peace and unity ahead of the forthcoming governorship elections in the state.

He was speaking at a meeting with leaders of the Okun Development Association, led by Micheal Ikupolati, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

According to Mr Ngelale, Mr Tinubu assured them of his commitment to looking into their concerns regarding marginalisation and the need for fair representation in the governance of their state.

The delegation had expressed their unwavering support for Mr Tinubu’s administration and requested the president’s backing for Kogi West Senatorial District to have an opportunity to produce the next governor of the state.

They emphasised that this would be the first time the district would have a chance to produce a governor since the state was created 27 years ago (1991).

Regarding the issue of power rotation and constitutional provisions to guarantee equal rights for all senatorial districts, the president said he would thoroughly examine the fair representation they brought to his attention.

He recalled the agreement on power rotation made by the late Abubakar Audu and other leaders but acknowledged that unforeseen events could impact such arrangements.

‘‘When you talk about domination, I’ll have to dig deeper into the issues. Yes, the question of rotation was agreed upon by Prince Audu and some other leaders, but death didn’t allow him. God Almighty knows the reasons, and we cannot question him,’’ he said.

Mr Tinubu assured the group that having listened to all their concerns on issues surrounding the elections in November, ‘‘he would look into the issues very carefully to ensure fairness, justice and equity, but democracy is still a game of numbers.’’

He charged them to extend love to one another, be patient and show solidarity with other members of the Senatorial districts in the state.

Mr Ikupolati had appealed to the president to intervene by directing security agencies to ensure a fair and peaceful election process during the elections, scheduled for November 11.

(NAN)