This press statement is to clear the air on the distortion of facts by the fifth columnists, following the rebuttal by the people who reffered to themselves as the Kogi East APC stakeholders on the May 17th 2024 in Abuja, and to call on the Federal Government to further improve the electoral process by strenghtening the use of the Bimodal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS).
The Kogi East APC Critical Stakeholders met to consider how to recover from the failure of Kogi State APC in the November 2023 gubernatorial election, which saw SDP become the most popular party in the district, with Muritala Yakubu Ajaka, as the man loved by the people. The so called APC Critical Stakeholders saw themselves and their family members as the only ones voting for the APC during the gubernatorial election, as can be seen from the INEC results from their polling units.
The activity of the Kogi East APC Critical Stakeholders was well intended so that they can come up with strategies to return to the hearts of the people again in Kogi East Senatorial District. Infact the content of the speech presented had nothing about the fugive Yahaya Bello or Ododo, until the questioning session. The data boys of the fugitive former governor went to town with the false narration of what the group actually said.
The group has presented a rebuttal but was not widely circulated. The branded Kogi East APC Critical Stakeholders was in shock at the attempt to misrepresent the facts they presented during the press conference to justify a disclaimer.
The group, Kogi APC Critical Stakeholders was frank to note that APC supporters have decamped or supported another party to become the new bride in Kogi State during the gubernatorial election. The new political bride in Kogi State is the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The bulk support of APC went to the SDP during the gubernatorial election. This happened, not so much because of any ethnic agenda which was popular in each of the three senatorial districts, but made more popular because of the poor performance of the former governor of Kogi State with the resources that accrued to the State. Yahaya Bello was an extremely poor representation of youths in leadership.
It was the fear of SDP in Kogi State that led the former governor, HE Yahaya Bello, to buy an INEC National Commissioner, and also be involved in pre-filling of INEC original result sheets in some local government areas in the State where he had sucessfully stifled dissent, and violently manipulated the election, not knowing that BVAS machines can now speak the truth for themselves, as is now in the open.
The problem of scarcity of APC supporters in Kogi State as highlighted during the Press Conference by the group should be a matter of concern for those who called themselves critical APC Stakeholders who lost their polling units to another political party during the gubernatorial election, which took over the environment through a political tsunami, which devasted and shocked even the former white lion, that he had to call a meeting in Government House Lokoja immediately after the election, to assess how they got here. The video is in public domain.It was the misgovernance of Yahaya Bello that gave an opportunity which presented itself to the people to revolt against APC under the leadership of Yahaya Bello in Kogi State for the SDP in same State. And the revolt was a huge sucess.
The support the so called Kogi East APC Critical Stakeholders mobilised for APC can be seen to be very paltry in Kogi East from the votes during the gubernatorial election as is demonstrated by some results of the polling units of some of the self acclaimed Kogi East APC Critical Stakeholders. The true election result in Kogi Central would have shocked people as revolt was widespread there except for the stifling of dissent, use of thugs and pre-filling of original INEC result sheets.
Yahaya Bello’s data boys twisted the story of the concerned Kogi East APC Critical Stakeholders, sweetening it with purported declaration of support for the fugitive Yahaya Bello and his fraudulently manipulated gubernatorial election in Kogi State.
The members of the Kogi Recalibration and Restoration Team of Kogi State who were in the frontline of delivering the political tsunami and drove the process of revolt and change in Kogi State, which the concerned Kogi East APC Critical Stakeholders have noted, are pleased that the revolt against the former Governor and his cronies, is well acknowledged by his own party members who have described themselves as critical stakeholders.
The Kogi East APC Critical Stakeholders met to inform the world that they want to resrategise for improvement of their performance. The group has said that it did not make any comment against the EFCC to suggest the need for the President to call the office to order. Infact the leader of the group said they were law abiding citizens, and the law should take its course.
An invitation from EFCC to Yahaya Bello to come to explain himself is not an invitation to jail. It is when an explanation is not given correctly, appropriately and satisfactorily to an allegation that matters may begin to arise.
The Government of HE Bola Tinubu is called upon to take note that the people of Kogi State, particularly Kogi East, are fully behind his government at the centre towards ensuring that EFCC is empowered to do its work irrespective of whose ox is gored. There should be no amount of political pressure by those who thought that eight years was forever to cow the government from performing its statutory functions. The whole world is watching.
The majority of the people of Kogi State are in support of the routine questioning after completion of a tenure. This process will continue to encourage those who demonstrate interest, and participate in election to get mandate to lead us, to also know that it is part of the package after completing a tenure of either four or eight years, to expose oneself through the books of account, for questioning. This is democracy. Let leaders not continue to think that they can ride the people roughshod without consequences.
The ordinary people of Kogi State, who have become the real critical stakeholders, and drove the change agenda against misgovernance of Yahaya Bello in Kogi State are confident that the government of HE President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be fair to all parties that are in court over the Kogi State gubernatorial election, and allow the courts to adjudicate according to the new law that guides the use of Bimodal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS) in our new attempt to improve the quality of election in Nigeria.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is called upon to deepen the faith of Nigerians in the electoral system by improving the use of Bimodal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS) in the electoral guidelines and the Electoral Act, to make rigging of elections more difficult in Nigeria.
The National Assembly is also called upon to examine further ways to improve the Electoral Act to reduce rigging with punishment of imprisonment for National Electoral Officers or Commissioners who supervise elections, and aid and abet the compromise of the election.
INEC is also called upon to emplace in-house mechanisms within its guidelines to make it punishable for any INEC regular or adhoc staff to accept or declare any result in any polling unit or collation centre that is not in keeping with the guidelines or the Electoral Act.
Dr Felix Ojoachele Akor,
Head Advocacy,
Kogi Recalibration and Restoration Team.
22ND MAY 2024
