Kogi’s unending votes of no confidence on Bello
From Itodo Daniel Sule, Lokoja
On January 27, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State clocked one year in office, but the infighting and wrangling that heralded his emergence seem to be deepening by the day.
Bello’s emergence as governor followed the death of Prince Abubakar Audu, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 21, 2015 gubernatorial election.
The relationship between Governor Bello and the state chapter of the APC in the last one year has not been rosy as the party has continued to pass endless votes of no confidence on his leadership style.
Pundits said that critical stakeholders and leaders of the APC in the state, who “worked assiduously” for the victory of the party prior to the emergence of Bello as governor, were still aggrieved because they were reportedly not being carried along in the scheme of things by the governor.
The party and its stakeholders are also said not to be happy that the governor has not accorded them “the due recognition” and support, being the platform upon which he rode to power.
Our correspondent learnt that things have not been glowing with the party as it has been finding it difficult to source money to pay members of staff at its secretariat and to run the day-to-day activities of the party due to lack of support from the government.
“Things have really been rough with us here at the party secretariat. Although we are the party in power, we are still left like orphans. There is no patronage from the government. We even owe our staff working here at the secretariat. The situation is that bad,” a party official said.
In April 2016, just about four months into Bello’s administration, the APC executive in the state met and passed a vote of no confidence on him, accusing him of appointing members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into his cabinet.
But the governor’s spokesman, Kingsley Fanwo, dismissed the allegations against his principal as untrue.
But despite the denial, events that continued to play out showed that all is not well within the APC fold, especially as regards the governor and APC leaders. It appears the state chairman of the party, Alhaji Haddy Ametuo and his executive members have joined forces with the Abiodun Faleke/ Dino Melaye camp, and have been working at cross purposes with the governor.
The internal wrangling between Bello and APC took another dimension when the party’s stakeholders from the state held a world press conference in Abuja on January 27, where they passed another “vote of no confidence” on him. Ironically, the APC leaders chose to pass the vote of no confidence on a day the governor was marking his one year anniversary in office. The party, aside passing a no confidence vote, also issued a four-week ultimatum to the governor to reconcile the Since then, many votes of no confidence have been passed on Bello, but things have not changed. It is only time that will tell what the future holds for Kogi people and the APC ongoing staff audit in the state and pay workers.
Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi West), who spoke on behalf of the party, said the strategy adopted by the state government in the exercise had caused so much pain among the genuine civil servants, rendering them jobless and without salaries for almost a year. Melaye called on the governor to pay civil servants, pensioners and other concerned workers all their entitlements for the past one year. He said that with the N30 billion bailout given to the state government, its workers ought not to be subjected to any form of hardship.
“The bailout fund is primarily meant for those purposes, while part of the N11.2 billion Paris Club refund was also aimed at ameliorating the suffering of our people. Any attempt by Yahaya Bello to think otherwise in this regard, after four weeks from today, will be met with peaceful revolution across the 21 local government councils.
“About 80 per cent of workers’ salaries and entitlements have not been paid since January, 2016. We urge our civil servants to be patient and law-abiding till the next four weeks. We also call on the state government to re-order the priorities of the state in line with the needs and aspirations of our people,” he said.
The lawmaker also expressed concern that rather than enjoy the dividends of democracy, Kogi indigenes were being subjected to hardship.
Mr. Faleke, the deputy governorship candidate to the late Prince Abubakar Audu, also led a delegation of party stalwarts from the state to the presidency to pass a vote of no confidence on Bello. They comprised former ministers, former ambassadors, former National Assembly members and other critical stakeholders from the state who were led to the office of the then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo. They said, “The state has stopped working since Bello assumed office.”
Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the closed door meeting, Faleke said, “The governor’s unsavory actions are inimical to the future of the ruling APC in the state. We came to the Presidency to let the federal government know what is happening in Kogi State as regards the fortunes of the party; the way it is dwindling day by day as regards the civil servants, the welfare of the people and their relationship with the state government. We have come to let the Presidency know that when elections come and the party loses, no one is to be blamed. We want intervention from the federal government to find a way forward in this situation.
“The governor of the state should recognise those who worked for the party and made it successful. It is one thing to be victorious at the court level and another thing to carry the people along. I want to use this opportunity to urge the governor to carry the people along,” Faleke said, adding that the delegation was satisfied with the response of the acting president during the meeting.
But there are clear indications that Governor Bello is not perturbed by the plethora of votes of no confidence and ill feelings from the party stakeholders, describing them as “failed politicians and opposition moles seeking political relevance.”
Bello’s spokesman, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, said those passing votes of no confidence on his principal were doing so because “the governor refused to share the common wealth of the state with them.”
Also, in a paid advertorial published in a national daily on February 2, the governor’s media team tackled Senator Melaye and his group over some of the issues at stake.
“People like Melaye are dinosaurs, petrified by the thought of losing relevance and fossilized in the residues of the past and out of touch with the present. He needs to grow up.
“We are building a nation devoid of parochial sentiments. Old divisive tactics will serve no purpose. Change is here and we have chosen to move in a new direction,” the advertorial stated.
Since then, many votes of no confidence have been passed on Bello, but things have not changed. It is only time that will tell what the future holds for Kogi people and the APC.