Yahaya Bello denies ditching Tinubu for Atiku
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has denied the report by some news outlet that he had dumped the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate Bola Tinubu for the Peoples Democratic Party standard-bearer Abubakar Atiku.
Bello, on Sunday, said the news outlets who made the claims are being ‘mischievous’.
He tweeted, “Kindly disregard every fake news being spread by mischievous news outlets. My unwavering support for Tinubu/Shettima 2023 is 100 per cent undiluted.”
According to a news outlet, Governor Bello allegedly met with the PDP national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, pledging to deliver Kogi state to Atiku.
Bello, according to the report, demanded that the opposition party stop supporting its senatorial candidate Natasha Akpoti. He is said to be unhappy on how his party presidential campaign sidesteps him in taking certain decisions. The governor is equally reported to feel unease with the campaign’s secretary, James Faleke.
Faleke, an incumbent member of the house of representatives, was the running mate to late Prince Abubakar Audu, who suddenly died before he could be announced as the winner of the 2015 governorship election in Kogi state.
Following Audu’s death, Bello who was the first runners-up in the primaries, was made to step in as governor.
According to INEC, the votes won by Audu belonged to the APC, which sponsored the candidate.
