PDP slams Yahaya Bello for allegedly institutionalising electoral violence, fraud in Kogi

By ABUBAKAR YUSUF

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has decried what it called “the decrepit and degenerate conditions of physical and social infrastructure” in Kogi State, under Governor Yahaya Bello.

The party made this known during a retreat organised for leaders and stakeholders by Kogi PDP Renaissance in Abuja on Saturday.

Stakeholders at the retreat, chaired by former Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, with erstwhile Minister of Information and National Orientation, Professor Jerry Gana, as Guest Speaker, said Bello has raised the bar of electoral intolerance and violence in the state as reflected by the gangsterism and bloodshed witnessed during the 2019 gubernatorial election in Kogi State.

They noted that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has instituted a regime of the barrel of the gun, unknown in the nation’s electoral history, while enjoining the electorate to fight electoral bestiality in any form.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the retreat, the stakeholders questioned the rationale for the advertisement of state-owned assets for disposal by an administration which has contributed the least to the physical development of the state, in its 30 year history.

PDP leaders warned potential investors planning to buy Kogi State properties to have a rethink, insisting that the planned disposal is fraudulent.

In his keynote address, Professor Gana expressed the determination of leaders of the party to oil the right machinery to ensure the victory of the party at the polls.

Decrying the sorry state of affairs in the state under the leadership of APC, Prof Gana noted that the campaigns have taken care of itself as “APC have made the work easier for the PDP.”

Professor Gana commended previous PDP-led administrations in Kogi State for their efforts in the provision of infrastructure and impacting the socioeconomic development of the state.

He noted that the geographical location of Kogi State in the middle of the country, surrounded by nearly a dozen states and the federal capital territory, makes it incumbent on every government in the state.

“There’s no hiding place for Kogi State. It is the gateway between the north and the south. Commuters can form their opinions by just driving through the state to the South West, South East and South-South,” he said.

In his speech, Saraki enjoined the PDP to institute a regime of intra-party unity, equity and fairness, and to ensure cohesion and oneness, in the pursuit of electoral success.

According to him, no effort should be spared in ensuring that the party and its candidates at various levels proceed into elections only after adequate housekeeping and realignment within its ranks.

Saraki, who is also at the head of the national reconciliation project of the PDP, expressed delight that in the cross-country tour of his team, Kogi State did not feature on the list of states and chapters of the PDP whose leaders and members needed to be addressed.

This, he observed, is indicative of the fact that the party in the state is one solid block, without factions and divisions, a pedestal which the Kogi State PDP must build upon, going forward.

He stressed the need for consensus building in the decision making processes of the party, adding that forgiveness is key for reconciliation, and members must be able to forgive wrongs of the past, for the progress of the party.

A former governor of the state, Ibrahim Idris, expressed delight that younger elements in the Kogi State PDP picked up the gauntlet to put the retreat together.

He noted that the programme and the quality of attendance will send a strong message to the opposition that the PDP is reinventing itself.

In his welcome address, Chairman of the Kogi PDP Renaissance Group, David Ogu, noted that the party remains the only pathway for the people of Kogi State and indeed Nigerians at large, out of the impoverishment, despair and disillusionment which the APC has foisted over the country in the last six years.

He said the party will collaborate with all lovers of justice and democracy to rescue Kogi State and Nigeria from the grips of its retrogressive overlords.

The retreat was also attended by Rep member Shaba Ibrahim (Lokoja/Kotonkarfe); Humphrey Abah, former Minister of Police Affairs; Nicholas Ugbane, a former senator representing Kogi East and Musa Wada, PDP candidate at the 2019 governorship election.

Others were Musa Ahmadu, a former member of the House of Representatives; Femi Ajisafe, former general manager at the National Inland Waterways Authority NIWA; David Ehimony, a former director in the civil service and Phillip Orebiyi, a former parliamentarian in the Kogi State House of Assembly.