The Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has described as “laughable,” the allegation by the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party that he donated N70 million at a recent book launch organised by the First Lady, Aishat Buhari.

He also described as “unfortunate” the vote of no confidence passed on him by his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The PDP had in a statement accused Mr. Bello of donating N70 million when Mrs. Buhari launched a book to garner support for the families of the abducted Chibok girls.

Also, the state chapter of the APC at its meeting on April 11 passed a vote of no confidence on Mr. Bello, accusing him of sidelining members of the state executive council and other organs of the party in the affairs of the state.

In an April 12 letter signed by 34 of the state executive council members of the APC to the National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun, the party listed the “sins” of the governor, including the allegation that he gave 45 political appointments to members of the PDP.

But a statement by Kingsley Fanwo, media aide to Mr. Bello, on Sunday said the allegation that the governor donated N70 million at the book launch organized by the first lady, smacks of “laughable political desperation to brazenly slaughter truth”.

He did not however say how much was donated by the governor at the occasion.

He said, “The book launch was organized by the nation’s First Lady to garner support for the families of the abducted Chibok girls, which was attended by Governor Yahaya Bello to lend support to the traumatized families of the girls.


Foramfera

“As a political leader and a parent, Governor Bello is touched by the plight of the girls and their families, hence the will to identify with the project.

“The book launch was televised to the whole world and no one announced what anyone donated. Governor Yahaya Bello did not donate 70,000,000 naira as insinuated by the people who are turning opposition politics to a comical adventure”.

He explained that Mr. Bello did not approached any bank for loan, saying the Zenith Bank loan story was aimed at distracting the governor from his laudable programs in the state.

He said, “The spurious allegation that the Governor has applied for loan at Zenith Bank has further exposed our opponents as people who lack the basic knowledge of public accounting. Their macabre dance on the grave of ignorance has justified people’s belief that our opponents are characters are people who lack the rudiments of governance. The governor didn’t apply for loans.

“We urge our opponents to always dwell on facts when playing their games and stop toying with the intelligence of the Kogi people. Governor Yahaya Bello paid two salaries within his first fifty-seven days in office as against the four months owed by his immediate predecessor”.

On the appointments allegedly given to PDP members, Mr. Fanwo said the governor had been fair in this regard, insisting that he (governor) would continue to work with the APC leadership to actualize the change agenda of the party.

He said, “It is not true that the governor made 45 political appointments. Some appointments are purely professional and only people who are competent in those fields are capable of discharging such roles effectively.

“Majority of those appointed are APC while many others are not politicians but technocrats who can drive the New Direction agenda of the present administration. The Governor deserves commendation for assembling a team that is already delivering great services to the people of the state.

“The Yahaya Bello administration has relegated mediocrity to the back seat. We need to drive Kogi to work and for her to work, round pegs must be in round holes without prejudice to fairness and equity”.

Mr. Fanwo urged the APC to continue to appreciate the good image the governor is giving the party in the state.

He said no living politician has contributed to the success of the party in the state as Mr. Bello even before he became governor.

“The Kogi Youths Arise Group was one of the vehicles used by the All Progressives Congress to root out the PDP from the state in 2015. The Group was formed and solely funded by the Governor. The Governor sponsored many APC candidates in the election with his resources despite not having occupied any political position before that time.

“By the time the staff verification exercise is over, Governor Yahaya Bello would have recorded another landslide achievement in saving the resources of Kogi State for the benefit of the Kogi people. He won’t be distracted. Opponents should give up their antics and join the train of change”.

The spokesperson who said his principal had no association with the PDP since his belief in the ideology of the APC is “unwaveringly unimpeachable,” urged the people of the state to discountenance the allegations as baseless, untrue and unfortunate”.
He said the governor was prepared to keep working with the structures of the party to properly structure the policies of government with party manifesto.

According to him, the policies of the governor so far were in tandem with the manifesto of the party to enthrone development and defeat corruption in all sectors of the economy.

“The Governor is a party man. That accounted for why he refused to defect to another party when came second in the governorship primaries,” Mr. Fanwo said.

“He has continued to reiterate his determination to integrate his New Direction agenda with the manifesto of the APC. In doing this, the Governor has been working with party leaders to actualize his dreams of a better and more prosperous Kogi State.”

He said as a party, the APC should play its part and ostracize the ghosts of division, adding “We expect the party to have highlighted the Governor’s strides since assuming office such as industrial harmony, efforts at restoring integrity to the civil service and the massive construction work going on across the state.

“With the new administration’s efforts in the education sector, Kogi State students are excelling and making waves in national and international competitions.

“Also, a number of high profile foreign investments are expected to kick off in the state soon such as the $363m for the establishment of a comprehensive farm and downstream industrial park in the state. This is the story of the new Kogi State under the leadership of Alhaji Yahaya Bello”.

Mr. Fanwo said it was shocking to blame the governor for the failure of the APC in the Senatorial and House of Representatives re-run elections in the state, when party candidates were barred by competent courts of jurisdiction from participating in the re-run owing to the mismanagement of primaries leading to the 2015 general election.


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All APC governors were forced to donate, Bello was not the only one.