‘Why all Kogites should support Bello’

How would you describe the political crisis that followed the last governorship election in Kogi State, especially with the insistence of James Falake that he was supposed to be sworn in as governor of the state and not  Yahaya Bello?  Well, there is nothing to worry about because the constitution of the Federal Republic of […]

How would you describe the political crisis that followed the last governorship election in Kogi State, especially with the insistence of James Falake that he was supposed to be sworn in as governor of the state and not  Yahaya Bello?
 Well, there is nothing to worry about because the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria stated clearly how a deputy governor-elect or deputy governor could take over the mantle of the government of a state. So, Faleke never qualified to take over the position of either governor-elect or governor of Kogi State. Yes, we agreed that there was a lacuna during the Kogi election due to the death of the original APC candidate, Prince Abubakar Audu, but that logjam was resolved by INEC and the APC through the presentation of Alhaji Yahaya Bello to continue from where Prince Audu stopped.
 We must also not forget that Bello went through all the necessary electoral processes. He contested the primary election and had the second highest number of votes, after Prince Audu. So, the executive body of the APC had to take charge of what was happening because if you are talking about the running mate of Audu (Faleke), he did not pick any form for the primaries. On the other hand, Bello picked the ticket and went through all the interviews, fulfilled all the requirements by INEC and came second in the primaries.

 Bello was inaugurated as governor without a deputy, which was unprecedented in the history of Nigeria. How did you see this?
We are happy that we have passed that stage now. We are happy that a youth and a successful businessman, who is very vibrant and has the love of his people at heart emerged and was sworn in as the governor of Kogi State. That is why we are enjoining all Kogites to support him so that all the dividends of democracy that had eluded the state would now be achieved.
We need to avoid the opposition political party to take over at the end of the day… because if we continue to have disagreements among ourselves, going from one court to the other, at the end of the day, the disagreements could be capitalised upon by the opposition who are already saying that they should be given the chance to govern, that they were the winner of that election. So, we, the APC should watch it.
But Faleke insists that it was fraudulent for the APC to have put his name forward as the deputy to Yahaya Bello in the first place.
 There is a political irony in terms of Faleke’s stance. Faleke believes in the supremacy of the party. Don’t forget that when Femi Gbajabiamila was trying to be the speaker of the House of Representatives, Faleke strongly said: ‘I stand by Gbajabiamila because I believe in party supremacy, so other people should do the same.’
 This is why I am surprised that he now came out to say that the party was playing hanky-panky game. Faleke was selected as the deputy governorship candidate in the first place; he never took part in the primaries. I see Faleke as a gentle man and I believe that it is the party gladiators who are pushing him to be doing all these, claiming that he is governor-elect and all that.

 Apparently, the governor is running the government with his party factionalised as some members are in support of Faleke. Won’t this affect the good governance that your association is advocating in Kogi State?
 I believe that Governor Bello is not a governor of faction. Bello is a detribalised person and he is not ready to run an administration of tribalism or faction. And if you think that Faleke has a faction on the gubernatorial issue, you should not forget that this same person is also in Abuja representing Lagos in the House of Representatives. He picked his ticket to represent Lagos and he is there now doing that. He has not yet resigned from the House. How can he be chasing the governorship position at the same time without even resigning his membership of the House? He wants to gain both ways. So, there are no factions in Kogi at all.

 What advice do you have for the Faleke group?
I can only appeal to the so-called Faleke group that Kogi has suffered a lot. Kogi State which is supposed to be a gateway state and a role model for all the other states of the federation is now the last in terms of development, employment, salary payment and so on. I urge them to join the present government and give it support. Let everybody bury his or her hatchet. They should let us work together to take Kogi State to the level it is supposed to be as a role model. I was in Lokoja during the inauguration and I wept for the state, which is expected to be a transit state as it is bounded by about eight states plus the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).  There should be factories that are flourishing there to serve other states. So, Faleke and the others should let us work together to develop Kogi State. The going forward is what we should be thinking about and not litigation upon litigation.

How can Kogi State indigenes and professionals based in Lagos or elsewhere contribute to the development of the state?
 We that are outside Kogi State have seen a lot and we have contributed to other states in which we live. I do not see any reason why we should not attract all Kogites both within the country and in the Diaspora to come back and give their individual supports with their talents to the state. They can even come to set up some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to achieve the best standard for Kogi State. We would also talk to all our doctors working in Europe and the Americas to come back home. But all we need to do now is to build our infrastructure. In fact we have already talked to some industrialists. These and many more, we will do.