The Kogi Youth Alliance, a pressure group, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to act fast and curb the “worsening impunity and looming anarchy” as Kogi state prepares for the November 16 governorship elections.
The leaders of the group, in a statement signed by the trio of Ade Onemola, Idowu Ipinmisho and Arome Idachaba, representing the three senatorial districts of the state, on Thursday, urged Kogi citizens to remain calm and sustain peace in the face of unholy provocations by some politicians.
“From what we are hearing, the governor is asserting confidence about influencing the judiciary to foreclose and possibility of victory for Senator Dino Melaye towards replacing him with his current campaign chief whom he plans to later install as Senate President.
“We also understand that he boasts of removing the DG of PDP’s governorship campaign, Honourable Teejay Yusuf, a popular grassroots politician who is much loved by a clear majority of Okun people of Kogi state from the House of Representatives through same tactic.
“While no invitation had ever been sent for President Buhari to come and commission any project in Kogi state during Governor Bello’s tenure, suffering has reached its worst extent and citizens are wondering what mystery has been consuming billions of statutory allocations.”
The statement pointed out that in the month of February 28, Prince Mustapha Audu, one of the governorship aspirants under APC sent a letter to President Buhari where he noted that “Our state, Kogi state witnessed perhaps the most unsavoury turn of events especially during the presidential and federal legislative elections because of the violence witnessed across the state, this surge of violence is a memento that harkens back to our nation’s darkest days of electoral violence and malpractices”.
The group also added that on August 5, this year a reputable online organisation published a report wherein the deputy governor of Kogi state, Simon Achuba, accused Governor Yahaya Bello of encouraging violence in the state, urging the world and Nigeria’s law enforcement agents to focus on the state because of the level of violence being perpetrated by a sitting governor.
They called on President Buhari to act fast before the November 16 slated for the governorship election in the interest of the people.
