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From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Kogi State chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has countered Governor Yahaya Bello, over defection claim of its zonal coordinators and chairmen in the 21 local government areas to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Bello, Mohammed Onogwu had issued a statement on Thursday claiming that the entire SDP zonal coordinators and the 21 LGA chairmen had decamped to the APC.
But the state Deputy Publicity Secretary, Yahaya Bahawudeen, also in a statement, on Friday, parried the rumour and added that the Bello was trying to court popularity and deceive the people.
Buhawideen added that it was unfortunate that the governor discarded all pretences of decency to personally commence a crude campaign of falsehood against SDP and its candidate in the state, Muritala Yakubu Ajaka.
He equally tackled some blogs that erroneously reported that Ajaka served as a Special Adviser on Water Resources to Bello and added that he had abdicated his position as SDP candidate in Kogi State to be APC National Publicity Secretary.
He said: “On Thursday Governor Bello brazenly issued a statement signed by his Press Secretary one Mohammed Onogwu claiming that the entire Zonal Coordinators of the SDP and all the 21 LGA Chairmen of the party had decamped to the APC.
“This audacious fiction by the Governor was preceded by series of fake stories planted in the press including mainstream traditional media houses that are expected to have transcended the weakness of falling for the antics of desperate politicians.
“Some faceless blogs went town with a disparaging fabrication to the effect that our candidate, Alhaji Ajaka had collapsed his campaign into that of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“These are crude fakeries concocted by the desperate renegade in power in Kogi by the name of Yahaya Bello who has engaged in every known act of violence to desecrate the exalted office he occupies.
“For a governor who photographs every visitor that as much as set foot in his Abuja Residence (which has been the defacto Kogi Government House in the last eight years ) to use for information manipulation how come the entire Executives of the SDP met him to decamp and eulogise him and there is no single pictorial or video record of such a momentous event?
“No single member of the executive of the SDP in Kogi has decamped or defected to the APC. The name of the Zonal Chairman of Kogi East is Pastor Sunday Atabor; That of Kogi Central is Musa Salawu Odogba while the Zonal Chairman of Kogi West District is Hon Emmanuel Adebayo A.
“All these Zonal Chairmen and the LG Chairmen are not only steadfastly in the party but they are by the grace of God leading the charge to dislodge Bello and his cabinet of gangs of thugs from the governance of our dear state.
“The names Suleiman Isah and Zubairu Ibrahim given as Zonal Chairmen of Kogi East and Central which was contained in Mr Bello’s press statement are fictitious.
“These are not existing humans beings and we challenge Mr Bello to produce them to contradict us.
“We call on media houses to be circumspect of stories emanating from the stable of this criminally deluded Governor who can no longer tell the difference between reality and fiction.”
