A report by the Nigerian Tribune has stated that Kogi state governor and member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council, Yahaya Bello, may have tactically withdrawn support for the party’s standard-bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
A source quoted in the report revealed that the Kogi governor’s new stance is informed by permutations in the north-central state ahead of the November governorship election.
The source revealed that Governor Bello has developed apprehension towards a Tinubu presidency.
The governor is said to be suspicious that the lawmaker representing Ikeja Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and Secretary of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, James Faleke, may throw his hat into the ring for the APC governorship ticket in the state.
Faleke is a confidant of Tinubu and was running mate to the APC governorship candidate in the November 2015 governorship election, Abubakar Audu, who died shortly after casting his ballot
Governor Bello’s aides reportedly warn Kogi governor to withdraw support for Tinubu
Bello who incidentally is the national youth coordinator of the Tinubu-Shettima presidential campaign council, is said to have been cautioned that supporting Tinubu might pave the way for a Faleke administration in the state.
The permutation of those close to Bello is that Tinubu would be holding the yam and the knife on who gets what in the party if he wins next month’s presidential race, leaving their principal in the dark.
Another chieftain of the party in the state who craved not to be named said Bello is not disposed to power shift to Kogi West where Faleke is from and has already given his word to the incumbent Accountant General in the state, Jubril Mommoh, who is from Kogi East, as his anointed choice.
Earlier, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council defended the absence Governor Bello, from rallies and town hall meetings of its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The APC presidential candidate has expressed strong conviction that Bello would conduct an effective, message-driven campaign that could lead them to victory in the 2023 presidential election.
But three months after he was appointed as the National Youth Coordinator of the PCC, Governor Bello has failed to turn up in any of Tinubu’s rallies and town hall meetings.
This has forced critics and some aggrieved loyalists of the presidential candidate to conclude that the governor may prove to be a bad apple in the cart if his lukewarm attitude to Tinubu’s campaign is anything to go.
When asked for reaction, chief spokesman for the APC PCC, Festus Keyamo, dismissed the report, saying that it was obvious many people did not understand the effort Bello had put into the campaign.
The Director of Media and Publicity for the Tinubu-Shettima PCC, Bayo Onanuga, also threw his weight behind Bello.
Onanuga admonished the media to desist from making a mountain out of a molehill, adding that the Kogi governor was due to make an appearance at the APCyouth rally in Abuja on Saturday
