BY BOLUWAJI OBAHOPO

LOKOJA – Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has dismissed as untrue, allegations in some quarters that the people of Kogi State are against the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The governor said in contrary, the people of the state are in support of the anti-corruption crusade of the President and other initiatives of his administration.

The governor who was reacting to a statement credited to the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Aliyu Akuh, on the State of the economy, said the statement was a “personal observation” of the Deputy Speaker, and not the general view of the people of Kogi State.

Bello in his reaction through his Director General, Media and Publicity said, “The Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Aliyu Akuh is a respected leader in the State. What he was credited to have said about the economy of the nation was his personal observation. Though I don’t speak for the House, I am sure his views would best be described as a personal observation which no one can deprive him from expressing. He has the right to his speech.

Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi State

“It is easy for many to view his observation from the political point of view, just because the Deputy Speaker is of the People’s Democratic Party. If you ask me if we are going through economic challenges, I will answer you with a ‘yes’, but if you ask me if the President is only giving excuses, I will answer you with a ‘no’.

“President Muhammadu Buhari knew what he was coming to inherit. He aspired to stop the rot that was almost consuming the nation. So he was abundantly aware of the challenges before him.

“The blind stealing of the past is responsible for where we are today. Tough decisions would be taken, some have already been taken. Efforts are ongoing to arrest the situation, stabilize the condition and roll back the nation to a prosperous giant state.

“Kogi State is a microcosm of a bigger Nigeria. The past few years saw the State in financial boom but we are yet to see the impact on the people. The present administration of Yahaya Bello has come in to take drastic steps to save Kogi State from total annihilation.

“With efforts at all levels to salvage the nation through agricultural revolution, which will be our pathfinder towards economic renaissance. Politicizing the situation would not help our revival. Buhari Will save us from the impact of the misrule of the past”.

Bello said the people of the State believe in the capacity of the President to revive the nation’s economy within the shortest possible time, urging PDP leaders to join hands in rescuing the nation from cancerous corruption that has brought her to economic strains, “Now is the wrong time to blame the present for the misdeeds of the past. Everyone must come on board to support the roadmap of the President and the All Progressives Congress for economic rediscovery. We are gradually coming into life as a nation”.

He said the people of the State will continue to support the economic development agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, calling on the people of the nation to be patient and supportive of efforts at developing the nation, “States must begin to think out of the box to improvise means of revenue generation, industrialization and agricultural revolution to boost the economy of the nation.

“We need peace in the Niger Delta Region as the nation needs unity of purpose to rediscover its status after years of misrule and purposeless leadership”.
End.