Moses Ofodeme
The Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello on Wednesday, December 23, advised politicians to stop using thugs and criminals to disrupt electoral processes in the country.
Yahaya Bello made this call during an interview on Channels Television Sunrise Daily programme.
According to the Governor, Nigeria will be a safe place to live when politicians stop using thugs during elections.
He said, “When politicians begin to stop the use of thugs, touts, or some group of criminals, that is when we will begin to have safety and security in our land.”
He added that thugs, who were used and dumped by politicians during elections metamorphosed into “hydra-headed monster” and criminal elements who now terrorise Nigerians.
Yahaya Bello further explained how before his re-election on November 16, 2019, political thuggery was the norm in Kogi.
He noted that he refused to play that kind of “dangerous or unnecessary politics” when he came on board as governor of the North Central state.
“When I came on board, I inherited a state that was largely divided along several lines. For you to aspire to be anything politically in Kogi State then; you must have what we call ‘boys’ or thugs or touts and then use it to intimidate people during political dispensations.
“Once the political exercise is over, the so-called boys or thugs or foot soldiers would be abandoned and then left to themselves; and by that, they breed into something else or a hydra-headed monster that you will not be able to curb at the end of the day. There are several history and intelligence to that across the country.
“But I refused to play that kind of dangerous or unnecessary politics when I came on board. My ascension to office is known to everybody in the world.
“I chose my path immediately and decided to deal with criminals irrespective of political affiliations; by using the laws passed by the Kogi State House of Assembly and the existing security architecture,”he stated.
Yahaya Bello also spoke on the US visa ban during the elections going on across the country; describing it as unjust and unacceptable.
He said, “I won my election free and square. The police, the DSS, the military, and all law enforcement agencies have their facts. Don’t listen to the things they peddle out there. When I see those things, I simply laugh; and say how I wished they come to Kogi State to see for themselves.
“There was no time in my campaign that any of my followers goes into the destruction of billboards; signposts or installations of the state government, before, during, and after the election.”