Kogi Guber Polls: APC Selects Yahaya Bello As Governorship Candidate

All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday at a meeting in Abuja formally unveiled Yahaya Bello as the new candidate of the party. Bello was runner-up to Audu in the party’s governorship primaries last August.

The National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, while unveiling Bello, urged party leaders and stakeholders to accept the decision of the party leadership and ensure the party comes out victorious.

Odigie-Oyegun explained that Bello was nominated to conform to the electoral laws and to ensure cohesion and fairness.

While accepting the party’s nomination, Bello pledged to ensure immediate reconciliation of all aggrieved persons in the party, saying he was more than prepared to lead the party to a resounding victory on December 5.

Meanwhile, late Audu’s running mate Faleke has rejected his nomination as Bello’s deputy.

“We met for about two hours as you have observed and of course, we discovered that the meeting that we were invited for was just a mere briefing rather than it being where we could have deliberated and solved the quagmire we find ourselves in. We were only briefed about the position of the party.

“The party told us that we have nominated Alhaji Yahaya Bello. And of course, we made it clear as the political family of Prince Abubakar Audu; we told them that it is not acceptable and we are not going with it and I personally observed that my name has been submitted to INEC as deputy governorship candidate to pair with Alhaji Yahaya Bello and I told the national chairman in clear words that ‘Mr. Chairman, I have submitted a letter this morning distancing myself from that decision; that on no ground will I want to be associated with the decision of the party to pair me with Alhaji Yahaya Bello because I am already governor-elect.

“I also told him, Mr. Chairman, for us as a family, Kogi State political family, we are not taking part in that election, my name cannot be submitted because I was not even consulted in the first instance.  The Governor-elect cannot yet become another deputy governorship candidate,” Faleke said.