The leader of the Kogi East Forum of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and party chieftain Akwu Goodman has accused Governor Yahaya Bello of planning to impose one of his proteges on the state in the forthcoming governorship election. Goodman also alleged that the governor was behind the suspension of APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary Murtala Yakubu by the executives of his party ward. Yakubu was suspended on allegations of gross insubordination and anti‑party activities. However, the matter took a twist on Friday when the ward chairman of Yakubu’s local constituency in Ajaka, Omale Danladi, who purportedly signed the suspension letter, swore that he knew nothing about it.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Saturday, Goodman said the governor was attempting to frustrate Yakubu’s governorship ambition. The APC deputy spokesman is among several young politicians hoping to succeed the outgoing governor in the November governorship election. The race to replace Bello gained momentum in January when Bello’s chief of staff Abdulkareem Asuku, auditor general Ahmed Ododo, and commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs Salami Ozigi‑Deedat each paid N50 million to obtain their nomination and expression of interest forms at the APC national secretariat in Abuja. Sources also indicated that chairman of the House Committee on Finance and secretary of the APC presidential campaign council James Faleke, and Kogi West Senator Smart Adeyemi, have likewise purchased their forms.
Goodman championed Yakubu, a member of the party’s National Working Committee, saying he has kept the hope of the Igala people alive since the death of the late grassroots politician Prince Abubakar Audu. “It is like giving a dog a bad name just to hang it,” he declared, describing the suspension as driven by envy, jealousy and hatred of Yakubu’s rising political profile. He noted that the Igalamela‑Odolu constituency, Yakubu’s home area, delivered the highest votes in the state in the last elections, and that Yakubu won his polling unit, ward, council and senatorial district resoundingly. “Yakubu was the hero of APC success in Kogi East and, by extension, Kogi State,” Goodman asserted, calling the suspension illegal and urging the party’s national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, to void it, labeling the allegations as “figments of imagination” and “political witch‑hunting.”
Goodman further claimed that Bello’s actions amounted to anti‑party activity, noting that Bello was only accepted as governor after Audu’s demise. He said the Igala people, one of Nigeria’s ten largest demographic groups, could no longer remain silent about what he described as the “unbecoming and larger‑than‑life attitude” of privileged political minors. Attempts to reach Bello’s media aide Onogwu Mohammed and Commissioner for Information and Communications Kingsley Fanwo were unsuccessful, though Fanwo later responded to a message. He affirmed that, as a democrat and party leader, Bello would ensure the party’s constitution is followed and denied any intention to target any aspirant. “His Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Bello is a democrat and, as the leader of the party in the state, he will ensure the constitution of the party is followed in the emergence of his successor,” Fanwo said.
The commissioner also rejected insinuations that Bello was responsible for Yakubu’s suspension, noting that a prior press statement had addressed the issue. He assured that the governor is not after anyone and emphasized that “everyone in the party is his.” Fanwo warned against bickering that could undermine the peace and unity the APC has enjoyed under Bello’s leadership. He directed all aspirants in the upcoming governorship primaries to focus on their strengths, refrain from divisive tactics, and work for party unity. “Our party will ensure a fair playing ground for the best candidate to emerge in the primary election, and together we shall win the governorship election with a wide margin in November,” he concluded.
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