Home News Lawmakers Congratulate Yahaya Bello for “Peaceful” Elections; Get “Peaceful” Treatment
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Lawmakers Congratulate Yahaya Bello for “Peaceful” Elections; Get “Peaceful” Treatment

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Federal Lawmakers representing the Kogi State on Tuesday, January 9 2024, visited Governor Yahaya Bello and commended him for supervising a “peaceful and credible November 11, 2023 governorship election” in the state.

All members of the National Assembly from Kogi (excluding Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party) jointly made the commendation during a courtesy visit to the governor at the Government House, Lokoja.

The governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Onogwu Muhammed, said the lawmakers congratulated the governor on “the resounding victory of the All Progressives Congress and the emergence of Usman Ododo as Governor-elect of Kogi. According to him, the lawmakers said the November election was adjudged peacefully, credibly, freely, and fairly by local and international observers.

Present at the visit were Senator Jibrin Isah-Echocho (APC), Senator Sunday Karimi (APC), the Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ibrahim Abdullahi-Halims (APC), AbdulRahim Danga (PDP) and Salman Idris of the ADC

Abdul-Rahim Danga, representing Okehi/Adavi, and Salman Idris, representing Kabba/Ijumu, who were supposed to be opposition, appreciated ‘Bello’s fairness and democratic approach during the conduct of their elections’ (completely ignoring Natasha Akpoti’s experience with Governor Bello).

The duo praised the governor for what they described as his large heart, political sagacity, and understanding, describing him as a fair player in the field of politics. According to them, the governor could have chosen to truncate their chances of emerging victorious in the election.

The governor in turn welcomed the lawmakers warmly and expressed gratitude to them for their roles in the election. He urged them to support the incoming governor, Ododo, to move past election-related conflicts and discharge their constitutional responsibilities to their constituents and Nigerians as a whole.

The governor-elect, who was also present at the meeting, noted that Bello’s leadership style had fostered unity across the state without ethnic or political bias. He thanked the governor and the visiting lawmakers, asking for their cooperation with his incoming government.

After the visit, Governor Bello’s spokesperson announced on Wednesday, 10th January 2023, that during the visit by the Kogi NASS members, 6 armed thugs broke into the government house and harassed Senator Jubrin Echocho.
Governor Bello’s spokesman, Onogwu Mohammed, said, “Shortly after the fruitful discussion, the governor received with rude shock the news of the harassment of some of the lawmakers on their way out of the Government House and swiftly ordered the arrest of the culprits.”
He then announced the arrest of the suspected thugs and said the Governor had subsequently banned unauthorized persons from accessing the Government House while calling for the immediate prosecution of the arrested suspects. According to him, the governor has implored security agencies to investigate the issue thoroughly and ensure the criminals face the full wrath of the law.

“Information just got to me as I left the office to the residence that one man called Suleiman and others embarrassed Senator Jubrin Echocho in the Government House.

“I’ve directed CSO to arrest all those involved in such a stupid act and bring them to justice immediately. I will never condone acts of hooliganism and indiscipline,” Mohammed quoted Governor Bello as saying.

The victim of the attack, Senator Jubrin Echocho, representing Kogi East Senatorial District, narrated how thugs attacked him inside the Government House in Lokoja after they visited the governor.

The lawmaker speaking to reportedly said the thugs singled him out from other legislators and pounced on him, accusing him of being responsible for APC’s poor performance in the last governorship election in Kogi East senatorial district.

“As we were coming out, in front of the Governor’s Office, the thugs pounced on me that I was responsible for APC’s failure in Kogi East.

“To my surprise, they brought out knives and other weapons to attack me, but police officers around were able to rescue me inside my vehicle, and we zoomed off. I thank God I didn’t suffer any injury. The police were able to provide sufficient security,” he noted.

Recall that the Kogi elections were marred with voter intimidation and a lot of violence pre-, during, and post-elections.  to prevent her emergence amongst other dastardly acts unbefitting of democracy. The chairman of the SDP was also gruesomely murdered during the November elections.

The blatant whitewashing of Bello by the lawmakers and the subsequent attack by the armed men on the government house grounds illustrate the desperation and utter shamelessness of the average Nigerian politician across party lines.

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