The Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has said that Nigeria will be a safe place for people to live when politicians stop using thugs and criminals during elections.
Bello 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,” the governor said on Wednesday, adding that thugs, who were used and dumped by politicians during elections metamorphosed into “hydra-headed monster” and criminal elements who now terrorize Nigerians.
Contrary to what is in the public space, Bello said he won the November 16, 2020 Governorship election in the state without the use of “boys” or thugs.
Being re-elected last year on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), the governor said political thuggery was the norm in Kogi before he came into power but he “refused to play the kind of dangerous and unnecessary politics” when he was sworn-in as a governor of the North Central state.
Bello said this on Wednesday while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.
He said, “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.”
Electoral observers have said November 16, 2019, Kogi State Governorship Election was marred with violence and bloodshed.
During the Acheju Abuh, who was the Women Leader for the campaign organization of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Musa Wada, was burnt alive in her home by suspected thugs during the election.
Following the election, the United States Government imposed a visa restriction on some individuals for their actions during the November 2019 Kogi State election.
However, speaking on Wednesday, Bello who had since described the US visa ban as unjust and unacceptable stated that he won his re-election without the deployment of political thugs.
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.”
He further said the killers of the PDP women leader would be brought to justice.
“Some persons might allude to the unfortunate incident that led to the death of the PDP women leader in one of the local governments. Investigations are still on and I have promised that I am going to prosecute that case to the letter to prove who I am. The information out there are completely false,” the governor stated.
