An All Progessives Congress (APC) stalwart and first runner-up in the August 29 Kogi governorship primary, Alhaji Yahaya Bello Fairplus, has in confidence, said that he is expecting a positive result from the petition he filed against the candidacy of Prince Abubakar Audu.
Bello stated this yesterday in Abuja while addressing representatives of groups from the 21 LGAs of Kogi State who paid him a visit to re-affirm their support for him.
He reiterated his strong faith in the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to produce a favourable result that will be on the interest of the party and the public.
Also speaking, his Media-Aide, Prince Abdulkareem Onyekehi, revealed that the remarkable success recorded in Kogi by the party in the last general election was out of Bello’s mobilization of youths in their thousands across the 21 LGAs to ensure the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He added: “The petition received the warm attention of the party’s leadership which necessitated the setting up of an Appeal Panel who in no doubt, did a balanced and thorough job on the merit of the petition.”
According to him, the report of the Appeal Panel was received by the nwc with strong recommendations clearly in favour of Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
“The onus is now on NWC to study and act upon the recommendations of the panel within the ambits of the law in safeguarding the interest of the party and Kogi indigenes,” he said.
In response to the rallies already embarked upon by Abubakar Audu in the state, he described the campaigns as hurried rallies without any official flag handover and with unimpressive turnouts which points out a nonacceptance by the populace.
It could be recalled that Yahaya Bello’s petition against Abubakar Audu’s candidacy was on two major grounds which include his in-resignation from the party’s BOT before the election because he voted for himself in the election by virtue of his membership of the BOT pursuant to Article 14 (III) e) of the 2014 Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for Public Office which allows such party officers to vote as statutory delegates. Part of the findings of the report was that there was video evidence showing Prince Abubakar Audu casting his vote at the primary election.
Also in his petition, Alhaji Yahaya Bello stated that there is an indictment and pendency of criminal trial bordering on financial crimes against Prince Abubakar Audu by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
EFFC confirmed the criminal trial as thus:
Criminal Trial: FRN V. Prince Abubakar Audu & 1 Other Charge No. FCT/CR/115/2013 for offences bordering on abuse of office, theft of public funds and money laundering all committed during the Respondents tenure as the Executive Governor of Kogi State between 1999 and 2003.
