….Visits APC NWC, says he ‘ll be a bastard to fight Yahaya Bello
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Ododo, has boasted that his administration has crushed and subdued all the security threats tormenting the State.
Governor Ododo made the disclosure when he paid a thank-you courtesy visit to the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the party’s headquarters in Abuja on Friday.
Promising that nothing will come between his enviable intimate relationship with his predecessor, Yahaya Bello, Governor Ododo said that he will be a bastard to fight his godfather, the hand that made him what is today.
On the issue of insecurity, Governor Ododo said: “I want to let us know that Kogi borders 10 states including FCT.
Bordering these numerous states, Kogi definitely, will experience one form of insecurity or the other. But what we are facing today in Kogi state and the country in general, is something we can all join hands to bring down.”
“We have a lot of mineral deposits. We have over 32 mineral deposits in commercial quantity, but it has never worked for our dear states. We have land, arable land that is good for any kind of crops, but it has never been put to use.
“This is part of those things that constitute insecurity. And recently, the influx of criminals, I call them criminals because a normal human being cannot stay in the forest, is as the result of the pushback from the Northeast and Northwest.
“Security issues or security strategies are not discussed in public. But I can tell you, Kogi State is not a fertile land. It is not a free destination for them to come and trade. We are dealing with them decisively. They are hearing it. We don’t make noise.
“They always come in their numbers, but they go in their zeros. They will come with their handsets ringing, but as soon as they step their leg in Kogi State, that number will never be available. We are dealing with them.
“We are very comfortable. We have signed to protect the lives and livelihoods of our people. And as such, that is what we are doing in Kogi state. Be rest assured that in terms of security, we are there,” he noted.
Speaking about his relationship with former Governor Bello, he said: “Any river that forgets its source so soon will soon get dry. Where I was coming from, I made it a handbag to guide my conduct. My boss Alhaji Yahaya Bello is just like a father. I was not born with a spoon let alone classification.
“Where he picked me from, where God has used him to pick me from, that same point is still very fresh in me. When you see any child that says he’s going to get angry with his father, that son is a bastard. As far as I am concerned, I have the capacity,” he said.
Governor Ododo also made a passionate appeal to Nigerians to plead to Bello on his behalf if he mistakenly fought him, stressing, “I have developed that shock absorber to accommodate any form of rumour, lies, because that is where most people feed. But myself and him, we are working so hard to block that source of light for some people. And I want to beg you.”
“Bello is my boss. He is my leader. He is my mentor. He can get angry with me as a father. Please, if you observe or you get a feeling of my boss angry with me, please just go and plead with him on my behalf. But as far as I.am concerned, he is a leader. I can never, and will never fight him,” he promised.