By Mohammed Adamu I Monday, April 22, 2024
LOKOJA, Kogi – I am drawing the attention of the public to a kangaroo press briefing held by a group of people calling themselves concerned Nigerians.
I decided to add our voice to the ongoing saga in order not to allow a few embittered bigots and spent politicians get away with their evil acts.
I had been alerted since Sunday morning that Smart Adeyemi, the embattled politician, who represented Kogi West in the National Assembly, called journalists to arrange the press conference against the former Governor. The idea is for him to stay at the background.
Finally, Adeyemi, working with some desperate politicians, settled for Simon Achuba, the embittered, impeached Deputy Governor of Kogi State. He was asked to address the conference, with all sorts of accusations.
I am not surprised because he is simply doing the bidding of his pay masters and this further shows that the EFCC-Bello saga is beyond allegations of corruption.
Nigerians should not forget that the lawyer who is representing SDP at the Tribunal, JS Okutepa SAN, is also the lawyer who appealed the interim ruling of the High Court in Kogi on behalf of the EFCC.
The intention of these evil plotters is to put pressure on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to do the right thing, according to the law.
This is after more Nigerians are beginning to realise that the rush to arrest the former Governor by the EFCC and the siege on his residence were a direct breach of the laws of Nigeria, having not vacated an existing order.
As of now, the interim injunction, which the EFCC appealed but was not vacated is still standing.
The good people of Kogi State want to assure Adeyemi and his co-travellers that this is Nigeria and it is for everyone.
We will never allow a case where serial blackmailers, greedy politicians, who have never helped even members of their families not to talk of the less privileged, throw Nigeria into a state of anarchy.
The illogical claims by opposition members on social media that Yahaya Bello was hiding in the family house of the Minister of Steel, Shaibu Audu, is part of their game plan.
They are trying to frame the minister so that they will take his place.
We call on the President to call Smart Adeyemi and others in his corner to order in order to forestall a total breakdown of law and order in Nigeria.
Before anything can go on it the present case, the Federal Government must apologise to Bello publicly for embarrassing him and damaging his reputation despite the fact that he had not been convicted by a Court of law and was also lawfully protected against harassment and arrest as of the time of the shameful siege.
CONFUSING ALLEGATIONS
A Governor assumed office on January 27, 2016. The first charge before Justice Omotosho says he stole N80.2bn in September 2015. Those who concocted the charge with opposition probably forgot momentarily that Kogi was not like other states, that Bello did not become Governor like his colleagues in May 2015.
After they realised this, they took the same charge before another court in the same Abuja, and changed the period to February 2016. This means he stole a whopping N80.2bn under one month.
From our findings, his government met only about N2bn in the treasury in between huge debts obligations. How realistic is this?
*Mohammed Adamu, a public affairs analyst, Kogi State indigene, writes from Lagos, on behalf of patriotic Kogites.
