The son of the former Governor of Kogi State, the late Abubakar Audu, Prince Mustapha Audu, has said the endorsement of Governor Yahaya Bello by members of Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers is a reflection of poverty in the state.
Audu, who is also a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, alleged that the monarchs endorsed the governor in return for financial gains.

Recall that the traditional rulers led by Attah Igala and President, Kogi State Council of Chiefs, His Royal Majesty, Dr Idakwo Ameh Oboni Il, had on Wednesday, met President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja and presented the governor for second term.
But addressing journalists on Thursday in Abuja, Audu said that the monarch’s position was not a reflection of the people’s will.
He said, “To be honest, what we saw yesterday (Wednesday) was a display of the level of poverty that is going on in Kogi State today. The traditional rulers have no business in the presidency, in support or seeking to reintroduce a governor that is supposedly the first son of the President.
“We do not believe that the traditional rulers that were at the Villa yesterday are representatives of Kogi State. That is the truth, we have to be honest with ourselves. These rulers are setting a bad example, these rulers are showing us that their pockets are more important than the lives of our people.
“Kogi State is a state where civil servants are committing suicide, just a week and a half ago, a lady, a civil servant got an alert on her phone, she went to the bank thinking the alert was real, it was a fake alert and she dropped dead. People are putting ropes around their necks and jumping from trees.”