The Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello, yesterday accused some members of his cabinet of betrayal before and during the just-concluded governorship election in the state, vowing that their acts of betrayal would not be ignored.
Speaking during a closed-door meeting with stakeholders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lokoja, the state capital, the visibly angry governor, maintained that he would “cut off” even his fingers if they decided to hinder him from “going far”.
Angry Bello alleged that many of his so-called allies betrayed him because of his choice of Usman Ododo as his successor, describing some of them who he said were going around telling people that he disappointed them in unprintable words.
The governor maintained that he forewarned all of those he alleged to have sold him out, insisting that “all of those disgruntled elements” moved against him “after everything I did for them.”
“I was fighting known enemies while enemies within were pulling me down,” saying “God punish you all”.He added: “They said if it can’t be me, then it can’t be Ododo. They were busy conniving and conspiring with the opposition. They call themselves leaders, but were misleading the people,” and rained more curses on them.
He told them mockingly that he was smarter than all of them, accusing them of collecting peddling lies against him. “Shame on you all,” he said.Bello warned that if he ever heard the “leaders” threaten any of their subordinates, he would deal with them severely.He singled out a member of the National Assembly from the state whom he said was “wrecked” by his brothers before he (the governor) revived him from his alleged financial bankruptcy.
“Today, you are a second-term serving senator. You were laughing with us while you went behind to text opposition messages to hinder our party from having 25 per cent in some local governments,” he added.
As governor of Kogi State, Bello said he had outsmarted members of his kitchen cabinet who attempted to sell him out to the opposition and used the occasion to reveal that he would issue a “questionnaire” to all the 21 local government chairmen.He added that those who benefitted the most from his government were “the enemies within causing problems,” insisting that “I virtually provide everything for them”.