Social critic, Usman Okai Austin has commended the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) for taking a bold step by probing the “scandalous N20b Kogi bailout fund”.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, Okai said the “careless looting of Kogi’s resources is unprecedented in the history of the state.”
the court order freezing Kogi state government account has vindicated his consistent position on Governor Yahaya Bello-led administration in the state.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain said federal government’s grant was planned to be spent on those at the lower spectrum of society but in Kogi it’s been lavished to sustain the ostentatious lifestyle of the governor and his vain ambition to be the president of Nigeria.
“The primary victims of Gov. Yahaya Bello’s administrative tyranny and Atlantic ocean-size pillaging of the state treasury are the everyday people of Kogi state, the hardworking civil servants who are paid in percentages of their emoluments, the farmers and Kogites in general.
“Kogi state is rich in resources but poor in administrative performance. The careless looting of the state’s resources is unprecedented in the annals of the history of the state and probably Nigeria. With little or no significant achievement to show for his stewardship of the state, the so-called “youngest governor” in Nigeria’s history is busy executing his ambition to become the president of Nigeria at the expense of Kogites.
“Bello has ruined the state and threatened whoever he sees challenging his careless act, a situation that has made Kogi state the political equivalent of Kim Jong Un of North Korea.
“Even though some persons like me are courageous enough to criticize the administration of Yahaya Bello objectively and if and when need be, provide alternative and workable solutions to the problems of the state, it must be noted that activists and opposition figures have been locked up in prison for criticising the government of Yahaya Bello,” he said.
Okai said the state workers are being deprived of their salary and made to live in penury.
He enjoined the EFCC not to yield to pressure that will arise from the action, insisting that he is aware a day like this will come.
