Abejide: The Yagba Mandate Appreciates

By J.O. Abel-Ontop

Every electoral mandate carries an expectation. For Yagba Federal Constituency, the decision to entrust its representation to Rt. Hon. Leke Joseph Abejide has gradually become more than a routine political transaction. It has developed into a relationship between a constituency and a representative whose political relevance has continued to grow within the national space.

The question, therefore, is no longer only what Abejide has received from the Yagba mandate, but what the mandate has gained from Abejide.

Since his emergence in the House of Representatives, Abejide has moved from being a first-time legislator seeking his footing in Abuja to becoming a recognised participant in important national conversations. His second-term return further strengthened that position, giving him the experience and institutional understanding that come with years of parliamentary engagement.

Today, his position as Chairman of the House Committee on Customs and Excise places him in an important part of Nigeria’s economic and administrative structure. Customs is central to revenue generation, international trade, border management and the relationship between government and the private sector. By occupying a position at that level, Abejide’s political relevance extends beyond the immediate interests of Yagba.

That is where the Yagba mandate begins to acquire a different meaning.

A mandate is not valuable merely because it produces a seat. Its value increases when the representative occupying that seat develops the capacity to engage the institutions where decisions are made. Over the years, Abejide has cultivated relationships within the National Assembly, interacted with government agencies and maintained contacts across the Executive and wider political establishment.

His public relationship with senior figures in the Presidency has also become part of his growing political profile. His interactions with the Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, and his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration illustrate his willingness to participate in national politics beyond the narrow confines of constituency or party calculations.

The same can be said of his relationship with Kogi’s political leadership. Former Governor Yahaya Bello has publicly acknowledged Abejide’s support for the Tinubu administration despite their different political platforms, while Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo has commended him for supporting programmes and initiatives of the Kogi State Government.

For Yagba, these relationships have a political significance that should not be overlooked. In a system where access, negotiation and institutional relationships often determine how effectively interests are advanced, having a representative who can engage across different levels of government can be an advantage.

Abejide’s business background adds another dimension. His experience in business and the maritime and logistics environment gives him an appreciation of how government policy affects investment, trade and enterprise. His present legislative responsibility in customs therefore sits at an intersection between his professional background and his parliamentary role.

This combination of business experience and political exposure has helped shape his public profile beyond conventional constituency politics.

But the Yagba mandate cannot be judged solely by political connections. A mandate ultimately derives its meaning from service. The responsibility attached to public office is to convert access into advocacy, relationships into opportunities and political influence into public value.

That is why Abejide’s interventions in areas such as education, empowerment, infrastructure advocacy and support for security institutions have become part of the broader conversation about his representation. They provide a practical dimension to what might otherwise be described simply as political influence.

His motion concerning the reconstruction of the Kabba-Egbe Road, for instance, demonstrated how a concern affecting communities could be taken from the local level to the floor of the National Assembly and subsequently attract federal attention. His support for educational initiatives and community empowerment has similarly broadened the understanding of what constituents expect from political representation.

Yet, perhaps the most significant asset Abejide now possesses is experience.

After two terms in the House of Representatives, he understands the workings of the legislature better than he did when he first arrived. He has developed relationships that cannot be built overnight and gained institutional knowledge that a new representative would have to spend years acquiring.

This is the context in which the conversation around his third-term aspiration should be considered.

The argument for continuity should not be based simply on incumbency. Nor should it suggest that an electoral mandate is an automatic entitlement. Elections remain the constitutional right of the people, and voters must ultimately decide who deserves their confidence.

But experience deserves consideration when it is accompanied by influence, institutional relationships and a record of engagement.

The political question for Yagba, therefore, is increasingly becoming one of value: what can the constituency gain by continuing to deploy a representative whose political network and national relevance have expanded over time?

There is also a larger issue at stake. Yagba has historically produced men and women of considerable ability across business, public service, academia and politics. The challenge has often been how to translate that human capital into sustained political influence at the national level.

Abejide’s political journey offers one pathway.

He has taken the Yagba identity into the National Assembly and, through his growing engagement with national political and economic institutions, helped keep the constituency within conversations that extend beyond local politics.

That does not mean that every challenge facing Yagba has been solved, nor should political representation be presented as perfect. There will always be more roads to pursue, more young people to empower, more institutions to engage and more opportunities to attract.

Rather, the significance lies in the platform that has been built and the question of what can be achieved with greater experience and influence.

The phrase “The Yagba Mandate Appreciates” is therefore not intended as a declaration that politics has become perfect. It is an observation about the changing value of representation.

Yagba gave Abejide a mandate. That mandate gave him a platform. He has used the platform to build influence, relationships and institutional experience. As his political profile has expanded, the potential value of that influence to Yagba has also expanded.

In the final analysis, the strength of a mandate is measured by what it enables its people to accomplish.

And as Yagba looks towards another political season, the conversation should be bigger than personalities. It should be about experience, access, influence, capacity and the ability to keep Yagba relevant wherever decisions affecting its future are made.

The Yagba mandate gave Abejide the opportunity to represent. The years ahead will determine how much further that mandate can take Yagba.