Senator-elect Natasha’s story of how Governor Yahaya Bello tried to have me killed

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the newly elected senator for Kogi Central, has accused Yahaya Bello, the governor of Kogi State, of plotting to hurt her in the March senatorial election.

Yesterday, she made the claim on Channels TV.

“I heard guns; I had his henchmen shoot at my vehicle; I have video evidence of that,” she claimed.

Amoka, who was the returning officer for Okehi local government at the time, said, “It was not too long ago; they were dressed in APC shirts. I have video of him rallying a group of ten men to open fire on me.

Akpoti-Uduaghan expressed issues regarding the governor’s recent announcement when he acknowledged her victory as the legitimately elected candidate for Kogi Central.

She criticised the governor’s comments, pointing out the hypocrisy in calling the risk to people’s lives the “beauty of democracy.”

He said that this is a beautiful example of politics, but this is not the case. It’s not “the beauty of democracy” to put people in peril, to try to kill people, to ruin property, or to obstruct the voting process because you want your candidate to win, she said.

In addition, Akpoti-Uduaghan claimed that the governor sabotaged the election by obstructing vital roads throughout the state.

“Apart from that, the governor actually thwarts highways. Just one day before the election, the governor excavated gullies and severed five roadways. She said, “That was just to stop the election from happening at the risk of my life.”

One candidate said, “It was a day to the election, but thank God we had the payloaders and I went all night, we had to cover the gullies so that the election could take place.”

Akpoti-Uduaghan insisted that, despite the risks and difficulties she faced, she had to show her resilience to avoid sending a message of weakness to women who are or aspire to be in positions of political leadership.

I didn’t want it to look like I was constantly pleading for aid, so there was a lot that we couldn’t even share with the media. She insisted, “I needed to show strength; I didn’t want to discourage other women like me from entering politics by saying, ‘Oh, it’s too violent, it’s too volatile.'”

It was so much more than the public knows, and I had to show strength by not telling it everything.

There has been no response from Governor Bello’s office as of the publication of this news.

She also remarked on her victory, saying despite an earlier verdict affirming her election, she was unsure if the judgement would be upheld.

This is my second stroke of luck. She remarked, “This is Nigeria; anything can happen, so I wasn’t sure I was going to have the appellate court hand me victory until I was pronounced the winner.

I want to publicly thank the judicial system for its integrity and foresight in reviewing the evidence and declaring me the victor. I hope to “bring the people closer to the best innovation in leadership.”