APC disowns Bello

• Passes vote of no confidence on the Kogi gov

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) is now a loggerhead with the controversial Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, leading to a vote of no confidence on the governor by the Kogi State Executive Council of APC.

The APC State Executive Council (SEC) members in Kogi are now poised for war with the governor, considering to abandon Bello in the internal conflict ravaging the party in the state. The SEC members felt the governor has taken APC’s electoral victory in the controversial governorship election to favour the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), excluding APC leaders from government patronage. They had complained that Bello is sidelining members of the state executive council and other organs of the party in the affairs of the state.

It was gathered that in a letter signed by 34 members of State Executive Council to APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, dated April 12, 2016, the Kogi APC accused Bello of antiparty activities by sidelining members of the governing party in Kogi and hobnobbing with members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

They protested that “Bello failed to appoint even a single card-carrying member of APC in the state,” declaring that, “all the 45 appointments made so far by the Governor are given to the PDP.”

The State Executive Council members were said to have met in Lokoja on Monday, April 11 and the resolutions of the meeting were sent to APC National Secretariat, Abuja, listing the many “sins” of Bello.

The Kogi APC SEC complained in the petition to Abuja that Bello is the major source of the crisis in the State House of Assembly.

Kogi State has been engaged in seeming intractable conflicts over the House leadership since the emergence of Bello. Currently, two members are claiming the speakership of the state legislature. Governor Bello has been accused of desperation to remove the former Speaker of the State Assembly for his imposed leader, leading to the disorganization of the House.

Accordingly, members of the House of Representatives passed a resolution to take over the affairs of the House after efforts to reconcile the state lawmakers failed.

Bello provided safe haven for the minority lawmakers in his faction against the majority lawmakers standing for equity and justice.

Moreover, members of Kogi APC SEC subsequently passed a resolution at their April 11 meeting disowning the governor. They had declare, “from now henceforth, we will have nothing to do with the government of Yahaya Bello.”

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It was gathered that part of their request to the national leadership of the party was that Bello should not be allowed to decide or influence the nomination of the next minister from the state to replace the late James Ocholi, who died in a road accident along Abuja/Kaduna expressway.

They were said to have appealed to the national secretariat and the presidency to work with the state party leaders in appointing a ministerial replacement.

It was however gathered that the Governor debunked trhe accusations, challenging the state party executive that they were resisting the change he was bringing to the state.
Bello through his spokesperson, Kingsley Fanwo, on Saturday, Mr. Bello, had that said his administration was “not unaware of some political chess play among members of the State executive committee of the party in the state.”

He had said that the circumstances that brought the governor to office were “surely unusual. Therefore, unusual reactions are expected.”

The governor accused Abiodun James Faleke, running mate to late Abubakar Audu, of being behind the State party EXCO’s decision, noting that they are “both members of the change family and no one should allow himself to be caught in the political crossfire playing out in the state.”

Faleke is at the state governorship election tribunal challenging the declaration of Bello by the Independent National electoral Commission (INEC) as the elected governor of Kogi State in the governorship election.

Bello inherited over 240,00 joint victory votes of Audu and Faleke ticket to be declared winner in the supplementary election when he never participated in the substantial election before it was declared inconclusive.