TheCable

James Faleke, running mate to late Abubakar Audu in the 2015 gubernatorial election in Kogi state, says Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, is a disgrace to the state.

Faleke said this in response to the double registration controversy involving the governor.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had accused Bello of registering twice. It also sacked three of its staff which it said were involved in the act.

In a statement on Tuesday, Faleke quoted Bello as saying on a recent TV programme that “having been receiving regular mentorship from President Muhammadu Buhari, he (Bello) has been operating above board in his official duties.”

He, therefore, asked the governor to stop “dragging the president’s name in the mud” regarding the matter.

“Yahaya Bello should stop using the President’s name to commit illegality. I make bold to tell the governor that he has disgraced the good people of Kogi with his criminal act of double registration,” he said.

“I can confirm that Governor Bello did his first registration in Abuja on January 30th, 2011 while he did the second illegal registration on May 22nd, 2017 in Government House, Lokoja. I challenge him to go to court on this. It is an incontrovertible fact.

“The governor ought to have known that for a body like INEC to come up with such a decision, it must have gotten its facts right.

“After the registration, the governor’s camp in wild celebration to prove that the governor had succeeded in registering in Kogi state at last, went to town with pictures of the registration process backed by a press release signed by the director–general of his media team, Kingsley Fanwo explaining why the governor had to re-register in Kogi.”

Faleke wondered why the governor “who gleefully defended his action to register in Kogi state within the government house through a press release widely published in the media would suddenly turn round to deny such.”

While reacting INEC’s claim, Bello had accused the commission of carrying out a “campaign of calumny” against him.

He denied being involved in any action that runs contrary to the law.