Why Yahaya Bello Failed in Kogi – Governorship Aspirant

Says infrastructure and economy of the states are static.

Lambaste traditional rulers for endorsing Bello for second term.

Kogi state governorship aspirant, Mustapha Audu, has said governor Yahaya Bello has failed because he didn’t prepare for governace.

Mustapha, who is the son of a former Kogi State Governor, the late Abubakar Audu, is contesting for the governorship election holding in November under the platform of the All Progressives Congress .

Speaking with Punch in an exclusive interview, he said the governor did not deserve a second term because it is clear he has not performed.

READ: ‘If Kogi APC Was in Crisis, How Did I Deliver for Buhari?’ Bello Reacts to Defection Rumours

“He doesn’t have the leadership capacities. Civil servants are committing suicide on a daily basis because of his bad leadership and the backlog of salaries owed them.

“Just a week and a half ago, a lady, a civil servant got an alert on her telephone. She went to the bank thinking the alert was real and for the accumulated salaries. But it was a fake alert and she dropped dead. People are putting ropes around their necks and jumping from trees. Never before had things been like this in our state.

“He (Bello) has been there for 41 months but some civil servants have not been paid salaries for 14 months; some are owed 12-month salaries; some, 20 months; others, 30 months. These are not signs of a good leader.

Mustapha also pointed that the infrastructure of the state remains static under the incumbent governor, and the people of the state are experiencing worst time.

“The economy of the state is dead; infrastructure, health care and education are all dead. Every single aspect of life in Kogi State is tragic – our people are experiencing the worst time ever in history.

“What makes it worse is that the fate of the youth lies on his shoulder. Today, if a young man stands up, they will tell him ‘sit down, look at Kogi State’. Should an old person take over the reins of power, the youth in Kogi State will never be granted the chance again.

“In order to avoid this, we must grab the bull by the horns. We must rescue the youth and the people of the state. That is why we know his days are numbered.

Speaking on the visit of some Kogi traditional rulers to President Muhammadu Buhari to endorse Governor Bello for a second term, Mustapha said they are really hungry and setting bad examples.

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“To be honest, I won’t say they were coerced but rather they are hungry. They are extremely hungry. The poverty level in Kogi State is extremely high.

“The royal fathers are barely surviving; any opportunity to collect money to travel to Abuja, of course, they would do it, but they did not represent the people of Kogi State.

“They have gone as their own representatives. What we saw on Wednesday was a display of the level of poverty that is going on in Kogi State today. The traditional rulers have no business in the Presidency, in support of or seeking to reintroduce a governor that is supposedly the first son of the President.

‘That is the truth; we have to be honest with ourselves. These rulers are setting a bad example. These rulers are showing us that their pockets are more important than the lives of our people. Our traditional rulers should better go back home and try to alleviate the pains of our people.

“They don’t need to introduce the governor to the President; no governor needs an introduction. This is the problem with leadership in Nigeria. The people that are supposed to say the truth in defence of justice capitulate, accept money and sell their honour and rights for nothing. God knows we are on a mission to rescue the people from bondage.”

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