Nomination of candidates for the 2027 General elections will commence next month. But eight states, including Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo, and Osun, the tenure of the President, the Vice-President, members of the National Assembly, the Governors, and Deputy Governors of the other states and members of the state assembly will end in 2027.
According to the revised election schedule, political parties will conduct their primaries between April 23 and 30 May 30, 2026, including the resolution of disputes arising from the exercises.
Campaigns for presidential and National Assembly elections will commence on 19 August, while those for governorship and state Houses of Assembly will begin on 9 September. In the interim, aspirants and/or those called to take the lead in the affairs of their people are engaged in consultations for acceptance.
The 2027 general elections were earlier scheduled for February 20 and March 6, 2027, respectively, for the presidential and National Assembly elections, and the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.
2027 presents another opportunity: The opportunity to elect leaders. Leaders are, in fact, servants. They are servants because the positions they sit in put them in a position to provide leadership – service.
Over the years, there have been outcries about the crop of leaders we have had. Rarely in a dispensation do we have leaders who are generally spoken of as serving the interests of their people. In the current dispensation, one may mention Fr. Hyacinth Alia, the Governor of Benue State, and Mr Dickson Tarkighir, who is serving Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency as the most popular elected leaders from Benue State. Agree or not. This is a fact which evidence is in the public domain.
Like Engineer Isaac Iyorhen would say, the 2027 election “is all about a pedigree of excellence and proven capacity to change the tardy rumble for impressive dividends.”
It would amount to shading crocodile tears, if party men and women come back after going to the primaries and fail to nominate popular candidates on account of “money bag” politics and personal interest of “stakeholders (stateholders),” to lament that they have been abandoned and their collective demands not attended to.
For Kwande/Ushongo, it’s a one-way traffic. It’s a season to redeem what has been lost. It’s time for “Kohol Alia” to do for the people what they cannot do individually, because “Kwande/Ushongo deserves the best.”
“We shall never again allow mediocres of unsound credentials to continue dragging us below,” the leader of Kwande/Ushongo Forum, Engr. Issac Iyorhen, earlier quoted, stated.
2027 provides an opportunity to elect leaders who have the capabilities. Leaders who, without been told, have seen and experienced firsthand what the people’s needs are.
That is why Kwande/Ushongo constituents have to, from the primaries, choose one of them, Prof. Kohol Iornem, who, through Mzehemen U Tiv Foundation (MUTF) and Menroi Rural Priority Foundation (Menroi), has shown demonstrable commitment to development issues, mentorship and human capacity development, to take the lead in their affairs.
Prof. Kohol is a proud son of Benue whose journey reflects resilience, excellence, and vision, from the classrooms of Nigeria to the global stage of academia, has shown what is possible when determination meets opportunity.
Through Menroi and MUTF, he has touched lives in Benue by supporting rural communities, orphans, and disadvantaged youth. As a former President of Mzough U Tiv UK (MUTUK), he worked tirelessly to unite Tiv sons and daughters in the diaspora, keeping culture and identity alive.
Undoubtedly, he has the pedigree to build political excellence in representative governance.
A Professor of Business Management, currently lecturing at Regent College London (University of Bolton’s campus in London), Prof. Iornem has served as a keynote speaker and chair at numerous international research and practitioner conferences, including the prestigious British Academy of Management conference and the Cambridge Africa Conference, where the African Society of Cambridge University honoured him with the Award of Excellence.
He earned both his master’s degree and PhD from Cardiff Metropolitan University. His primary research interests include resilience, personal growth initiatives, entrepreneurship and innovation, strategy, and employee productivity in the workplace.
As a John Maxwell Leadership-certified speaker, trainer, and coach, Prof. Kohol has extensive experience organising executive education programmes for top executives and senior managers looking to develop their careers.
Over the past fifteen years, he has trained more than 2,500 managers from over 20 countries.
Professor Kohol is the immediate past president of Mzough u Tiv in the United Kingdom (MUTUK) and has dedicated much of his time to philanthropic activities. He is committed to promoting and enhancing the socio-economic and cultural development of the Tiv people in the United Kingdom (UK) while supporting similar advancements in Tivland, Nigeria.
He serves as the Executive Director of two Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs): the Menroi Rural Priority Foundation (Menroi) and the Mzehemen u Tiv Foundation (MUTF). He has been involved in various projects focusing on educational initiatives, health programmes, business and innovation support, and assistance to vulnerable households.
The choice is yours, Kwande/Ushongo, to elect the one who knows your problems and has the capacity to deliver to you what you cannot do individually.
