A Duel Foretold in Kogi
Yekini Jimoh writes that it was only a matter of time before the hostility between Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and his deputy, Elder Simon Achuba became an open confrontation
The political crisis rocking the Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and his deputy Elder Simon Achuba did not start today. Achuba decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressive Congress (APC) few days to 2015 governorship election in Kogi State.
He became the deputy governor of the state after the swearing in of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as the 4th executive governor of Kogi State following the refusal of the deputy governorship candidate to late Prince Abubakar Audu, Honourable James Faleke to accept the position.
The once robust relationship between Bello and his Deputy who has been suspended by the Kogi State APC exco started to experience some hiccups sometime in 2017 following unproven allegations of disloyalty against Achuba.
The gap between further widened when Achuba was said to have advised the governor that they needed to reconcile with some aggrieved members of the party so that they can have a smooth running administration in the state.
The second problem was the issue of workers salary. After the screening to fish out ghost workers was conducted in the state, Achuba advised that civil servants that have been screened should be paid.
It became obvious to indigenes that all was not well between the two principal servants of the state, the Deputy Governor became increasingly absent at public functions organized by either government or his party the All Progressive Congress, (APC) for close to two years. Many who thought that the deputy governor should have resigned were disappointed, as he had stayed put despite serious humiliation from his principal.
Achuba had visited the Presidential Villa in Abuja where he held a closed-door meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Abba Kyari.
“For now, it is not very smooth; it is not what it is supposed to be and it is not supposed to be like that,” he told State House correspondents. Achuba said he had operated without statutory allocation in the last two years.
Bello allegedly stopped approving Achuba’s statutory allocations after relations between the two broke down. His allocations allegedly withheld by Bello now stands at N819.7million.
However, a human rights activist and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Femi Falana, acting in his capacity as counsel to Achuba issued a seven-day ultimatum to Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello to pay the outstanding allocations due to the Deputy Governor’s office.
In a letter dated July 17, 2019, Falana stated that the accumulated statutory allocations due to Achuba, which Bello has withheld includes travel allowances, hotel bills, pledges and outstanding monthly imprest and salaries due to his client as the Deputy Governor of Kogi State.
He said, “If our client’s request is not granted within seven days of the receipt of this letter, we have our client’s instructions to seek redress in the National Industrial Court. It is hoped that Your Excellency will not allow our client to resort to litigation in respect of this matter as that may embarrass the Government of Kogi State.
Few days later, Achuba alleged without any substantial evidence that his life was in danger, insinuating that Bello was after his life.
He made this known while addressing newsmen at his official residence in Lokoja.
According to him, from information available to him he suspected strongly that the governor had mobilized some unidentified persons to attack him.
“This, I want to put to the public and draw the attention of the Inspector General of Police the Director of State Security Service and law enforcement agents that if anything happens to me and any member of my family or any of my staff, he (Bello) should be held responsible.
“You cannot by force continue to rule on the people you are called to serve and it is on this note I want to appeal to law enforcement agents and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to beam his light on Kogi State because of the level of insecurity that is currently affecting the state.
“The insecurity in Kogi state today and the fear of the people of Kogi state is not about arm robbery it’s not even about kidnapping anymore it’s not about ritual killers rather, it is about the gunmen of the governor who terrorise the public without being restrained,” he said.
Elder Achuba noted that as a deputy governor he has been traveling for the past two years since 2017 and the Governor has refused to pay him his allowances.
“My salary is N385,000. How can the governor assume that I should run the office of the deputy governor if there are no other money outside my salary?
“If you have been given the opportunity to serve at any level and you are exhibiting behaviour like this, how do you expect people to describe you after you leave office?
He lamented that his problem with the governor started right from the inception of the administration when he failed to pay salary to workers in the state.
According to him, his position was that salary should be paid to workers, unfortunately despite the large sums of money Bello’s administration was getting, he refused to pay workers salary.
He also said that in the last three years the governor cannot point at any single project embarked upon by his administration.
“Leaders should not be a master. You should be a leader who is ready to serve the people. Whoever has the opportunity of being a governor should humble himself and not going about fighting people even when the fight is unnecessary and avoidable,” he said.
However in a swift reaction, the Chief
Press Secretary to the Governor, Onogwu Mohammed described the report as bogus and an exhibition of a blind rage by an angry suckling with a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance.
“The Kogi State Government is appalled that a Deputy Governor, who should epitomize leadership and good example in all senses, could descend so low to employ smear campaign against the person of His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello and we state without equivocation that Mr. Achuba has no shred of evidence for his reckless surmising which is nothing but a scripted venture in ruinous adventure. We do not train assassins, (and) as such, the state government or its personnel cannot be involved in sending assassins to murder any human being let alone a Deputy Governor of our dear state.”
“Despite these unsubstantiated ramblings however, we deemed it fit to clear the air by letting the general public know that the Kogi State Government would not be dragged into any form of political gerrymandering concocted for the furtherance of any person’s political interest or notoriety.”
The state government challenged Mr. Achuba to bring evidence of his claims or desist from making further spurious allegations.
“We warn Mr. Simon Achuba who is known to history as a man whose affinity for violence is unparalleled not to judge us by his own standards. The report of the Kogi State Government Commission of Enquiry on the Iyaño ethnic crises in 2017 is still fresh in our memories.
“The Kogi State government led by Alhaji Yahaya Bello, therefore, rejects the futile attempt at seeking to link it to any assassination attempt on the Deputy Governor and we advise that people desist from seeking political capital from scenarios they imagine would advance their parochial cause, no matter how banal such causes may seem.”
Achuba has taken his case to the court of public opinion, making some damaging statements against the government of Yahaya Bello.
His words in one of the private television. Station: “When we assumed office kogi wage bill for state and local workers was N5.8billion without screening. N5.8billion x 38 months amounts to N220billion
Total money received for 38months comes to N294billion.We have a balance of N74billion left. After staff were screened to weed off ghost workers, Kogi wage bill for state and local government workers stood at N4.4billion. Meaning that after screening, we saved N1.4billion. If we multiply N4.4billion by 38 months, it comes to N167billion. Don’t forget that the total money received for 38months is N294billion.
We should have a balance of N127billion left after complete payment of salary to state and local government workers. Where is the money?” Achuba queried.
He gave other damning statements concerning security and arms and ammunitions purchased by the governor of the state.
“I think those of us from Kogi State must be interested in these revelations coming from in-house and from the Number Two citizen of Kogi State.
The level of terrorism in the state must be looked into. The level of thuggery within the corridors of power in the state must be looked into and investigated.
Democracy is not about winning elections through thuggery approach. That there is no democracy in Kogi State is a fact which can only be disputed by those who feed fat on the suffering and wickedness of man to man in that state.”
Last week, the Kogi State House of Assembly commenced the process of removing Achuba from office over his actions and utterances.
The members described the action as a gross misconduct against the governor of the state Alhaji Yahaya Bello and the people of the state.
The impeachment process was sequel to a petition signed by 21 members of the House which was presented at on the floor of the House by the Majority Leader, Hon. Abdullahi Bello representing Ajaokuta state constituency at plenary.
Parts of the petition read “We the members of the Kogi State House of Assembly have in the past few weeks and days watched keenly the actions and utterances of the Deputy Governor of Kogi state , Elder Simon Achuba , both in public and national television with regards to the government of Kogi state, the governor of Kogi state and other key officials of the state government especially the allegations of crimes, financial misappropriation and non-performance levelled against them.
“It is our belief that these actions and utterances of the Deputy Governor amounts to gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office”
The petition also alleged that the committee of the Kogi state government set up to look into the Iyano crises in Ibaji local government, made some finding that indicted the Deputy Governor over his actions in relation to the escalation of the crisis.
“It is our view that that Deputy Governor is guilty of gross misconduct and he ought to answer to and or substantiate all these allegations.”
The Speaker of the House however has directed that the petition should be transmitted to the Deputy, giving him two weeks to reply while investigation into the alleged misconduct commenced.
Meanwhile the action of the State House of Assembly has generated criticism from various quarters.