The crisis rocking the Kogi state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), continued on Sunday, as the state chairman of the party, Alhaji Haddy Ametuo, attacked the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, over an allegation of anti-party levelled against the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party.
Ametuo said the governor lacked moral justification to have accused the party executive members of the anti-party when he (Bello) worked for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Captain Idris Wada, during the November 2015 governorship election.
The party chairman was reacting to a petition allegedly written against the executive by the suspended assistant secretary of the party, John Anjorin, accusing them of working against the interest of the party.
The petition was allegedly sponsored by the governor following which Ametuo advised him against destroying the party.
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The party chairman made his position known when he appeared before the party’s NorthCentral zone fact-finding panel set up to look into the petition.
The party chairman told the panel that the petition lacked merit as some signatories to the petition were “ghosts”.
He said, “the inclusion of unqualified and ghost executive committee members as signatories to the petition is not only fraudulent but criminal. Hon. Taufik Isah who has been appointed as Ijumu LGA caretaker chairman signed as party chairman. Osanaiye Taiwo who died in 2015 signed as secretary, Ijumu LGA. Haruna Isah cannot sign as Lokoja LGA APC chairman because he has been appointed as SA to the governor.”
Talking about the issues raised in the petition, Ametuo said, “Our governor, Yahaya Bello joined APC on February 5, 2015, when it was obvious that President Mohammadu Buhari was going to win the presidential election at a time when we have concluded all rallies.
“We have toiled day and night, rain and sunshine since 2014 through membership registration exercise, congresses, conventions, primaries, rallies and to all elections in Kogi State – a feat that was near impossible. Those of us who made these victories possible are still much intact and focused.
“We are still prepared to recover the lost soul of our party in the state to repeat a resounding victory for President Muhammadu Buhari and recapture all the legislative seats in the state. We, therefore, request that this petition from this set of liars and impersonators be thrown into the dustbin for lack of merit”.
