Nigeria electoral system will undergo another litmus test on its embattled integrity as the Kogi State gubernatorial election rolls around in November 2019 – with the incumbent governor of the state, Mr. Yahaya Bello battling to swim against the prevailing political current in the effort to remain the governor of the impoverished north central state.
Information available to Newsflash247 obtained from sources within the Kogi government indicates Governor Bello may have even steeper obstacles to surmount against the upcoming gubernatorial election. This is as the President’s wife, Aisha Buhari recently rebuffed Yayaha Bello’s appeal to assist him reach out to the President concerning his endangered situation with the All Progressive Congress [APC] – the political platform upon which the Governor hopes to contest under.
The APC’s body language in the past weeks had suggested to the Kogi Governor – in a very vivid manner – the party will not offer the Governor the ticket/platform to contest for the gubernatorial elections. The national chairman of the party, Adamu Aliyu Oshiomole, in a private discussion, pointed to the dwindled popularity of the Kogi Governor as the major reason for declining to put Yahaya Bello forward for the gubernatorial exercise. “APC will lose”.
Adamu Aliyu Oshiomole, in his calculation, believes the Kogi Governor had performed terribly below expectation as the Governor – and the people of the State have since turned their backs against the Governor. Particularly, the monarch of the community where the Governor hails from, had told the Governor publicly that he may not be able to successfully convince his community to cast votes for their son, the Governor.
Beyond Oshiomole, the national leader of the party, Chief Bola Tinubu has his impositions against the continued stay of Yahaya Bello as the Governor of Kogi State. Bola Tinubu, as sources indicate, has his choice candidate – and is willing to go ‘any length’ to impose his choice candidate. Bola Tinubu also believes the “APC will lose” if the gubernatorial ticket is given to Yahaya Bello.
In so doing, the party effectively turned its back to Yahaya Bello’s gubernatorial quest.
Not to be outdone, Yahaya Bello initially in a kneejerk reaction threatened abandonment of the APC for the Accord Party but he quickly coiled away from the threat – only to make public announcement he remains a bonafide member of the APC. He turned towards lobbying the President instead. Yahaya Bello, in the past, had been a frequent guest of the President and his wife. Yahaya Bello had boasted severally that the President considers him his son – and will not allow anything ‘bad’ befall him under his watch.
But Yahaya Bello’s hopes on lobbying the President through his wife was dashed in an unequivocal terms. This was as the 1st Lady declined a request from the Kogi State Governor – for a brief meeting for the Kogi Governor to plead his case – and for the 1st Lady to in turn present his case to the President. The 1st Lady refused to meet with the Kogi Governor – and has since been avoiding him.
Our source indicates the President’s wife along with the President have resolved to toe the same line at the national party chairman. And, “it has dawned on Bello” who continues to visit chieftains of the party ‘cap in hand’ pleading for APC gubernatorial ticket to be reserved for him.
