Unedited Press Statement:
A TEXT OF ADDRESS BY THE CONCERNED MEMBERS OF THE ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC), KOGI STATE CHAPTER, ON 8th March 2023.
Ladies And Gentlemen,
I address you today as the leader of the Concerned Members of Kogi State APC on the reckless and insensitive activities of our governor, Yahaya Bello, who is the leader of our party in Kogi State, over his serial disrespectful attitude and activities toward the Federal Government of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, governors of our great party and eminent leaders of our great party.
The governor today as put no one in doubt about his treacherous behaviour and betrayal tendency. Today, as can be seen as a result of his desperate and ill-advised presidential ambition, he has abandoned his benefactor, the number one leader of our party, President Muhammadu Buhari, by courting and associating with Baba’s sworn enemies and opponents.
Governor Yahaya Bello has openly shifted his allegiance to the sworn enemies of our dear President and the party. In the last 16 years, there was no any negative and derogatory adjective found in the dictionary that Femi Fani-Kayode has not used to insult our dear President including members of his immediate family. In fact, FFK did that on weekly basis. It the same man that Governor Yahaya Bello has approached to chair his presidential campaign media team. This signals his abandonment of the political relationship between him and President Buhari.
Governor Yahaya Bello has put his delusional interest ahead of any other person including our president and the party, on which platform he became governor. His shenanigans didn’t stop at FFK. Only last week he visited former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is another antagonist of our dear President and party.
In order not to put anybody in doubt, he referred to the former President as his mentor and father in direct contrast to the immediate past where such words were ascribed our dear President by Governor Bello.
Surprisingly, he has also unilaterally opened talks with the dreaded Niger Delta militants in his Abuja home last week.
All these betrayal traits didn’t start today but immediately after he secured his second term in 2019. For the avoidance of doubt, we all know the unwholesome practices we carried for the governorship ‘victory’.
He took a swipe at the Federal Government’s Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on the ravaging coronavirus pandemic. We all know that President Buhari and Secretary to the Government of Federation, Mr. Boss Gida Mustapha, are his targets.
He serially demeans and throws tantrums on the person of the SGF and federal government’s position on COVID-19.
During the visit of NCDC to Lokoja, the governor ordered the arrest and detention of the agency’s officials at the Government House in Lokoja.
In his efforts to get at PTF and NCDC, he derided the two bodies knowing fully well that the two agencies are under the supervision of the Presidency. He mischievously sent armed political thugs to vandalise the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Lokoja, which was at the forefront of educating the people on the existence of COVID-19. This action led to the closedown of the hospital for nearly one year.
From his COVID-19 delusion, which he put him at loggerheads with the federal government, he took on the likes of Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Governor Fayemi, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Rotimi Ameachi, etc. He described these leaders as ‘old cargo politicians’ and they should quit the stage for him and other younger ones in the party. He was quoted to have said in a meeting that “we are not going to put or install a vegetable and an impaired president like President Buhari”
Recently at a gathering in Lokoja, he declared that it was him who delivered Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State. He said the governor was unpopular in his Ekiti and lacked political value, adding that Governor Fayemi had no capacity to run for the Presidency of Nigeria.
It is on record that our leaders had to come to Governor Bello’s aid before he could secure his second term as governor due to his lacklustre performance. There was no single achievement to his credit in his first term in office until the intervention of our leaders and till date no any tangible project on group.
Governor El-Rufa’i, who was our party campaign chairman had to knee down for people at our grand finale rally in Lokoja, having realised and discovered the unpleasant situation in the state. But ever since then, Governor Bello has declared Kaduna state governor as a political enemy.
The same Governor Bello who was trailing our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for support and promised the national leader that he was going to lead Asiwaju 2023 campaign, is now campaigning for himself. The same treatment he’s giving to others like former Rivers state governor, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Ameach.
He treats any party member, who disagree with his ambition, with disdain. Like the case of the Lokoja local government leader of our party, APC and one-time chairman of the local government council, Alh. Bala Salisu, he was removed as party leader in the local government over mere allegation of meeting with Asiwaju Tinubu’s men in Abuja. His official vehicle was also impounded in order to ridicule him.
Governor Bello fritters away the resources of our state and claiming he is smart not knowing he is not and that he is only fooling himself about. His boastful utterances about his closeness to the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) won’t help him after his immunity expires. We know that the Attorney-General of the Federation is an upright man and not a rabble rouser like Bello. He is a pride to our great party and country at large.
The Concerned Members of Kogi APC unequivocally dissociate ourselves from Governor Bello’s delusional and treacherous presidential ambition.
We cannot watch further and be silent in seeing our governor deriding our president and our leaders because of his delusional, unguided ambition.
As it is today, Governor Bello is a huge liability to our party, APC and constituting nuisance to the great party.
We call on the National Caretaker Committee led by Governor Mai Mala Buni to call him to order and if he fail to change and continue treading on betrayal path, we will have no other option than to suspend him from our great partly.
Thank you.
Dr Yakubu Haruna Ugwolawo
CHAIRMAN for and on behalf of Concerned Members of APC, Kogi State.