A huge political tremor has hit the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State with the State Governor, Yahaya Bello, and the party firing verbal missiles at each other.
The party said it had been trying to condone the governor, but that its patience has gone overboard. The governor now throws caution to the wind and carries out his activities without recourse to the party under which he was elected, according to the APC in the State.
The party’s State Executive Council, which passed a vote of no confidence on the state governor, has forwarded a letter to the national headquarters of the ruling party stating that the governor had committed many political and atrocities for which he must be called to order.
The letter by the State Executive Council of the party, which was dated April 12, 2016, and addressed to the National Chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, the party accused Bello of refusing to appoint any card-carrying member of the party into his cabinet.
They alleged that all the 45 appointments made so far by Governor Bello were given to the PDP.
The letter was signed by all the 34 members of the State Executive Council.
Vowing that they would henceforth have nothing to do with the government of Yahaya Bello, they accused him of being behind all the crises in the APC in the state including the leadership tussle at the state House of Assembly.
But in response, Governor Bello said he had the right to appoint whoever he wanted into his cabinet as long as such appointees were qualified for the jobs.
Through his Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Mallam Abdulkarim Abdulmalik, Bello accused to party chieftains in the state of playing the script of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) adding that he is yet to be informed by the National Secretariat of the APC about the petition from the state chapter.
Bello said his government was all-inclusive and that his party was free to recommend whoever it wanted appointed as long as the person was qualified.
Specifically, the governor accused the State Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Haddi Ametuo, of becoming a major opposition to his government of unity simply because his ally, Honourable Jimoh Lawal, was impeached by the State Assembly.
“I will not behave like the past leaders, who now regret not doing the right thing while in office due to selfish pressure mounted on them by some people.
“Anybody with impeccable credentials and feels that he has something to offer the state can come forward,” he said adding that his government would continue to open its doors to everybody irrespective of religion and other considerations.
