The world of politics just got a little more dramatic. The Kogi State Government is locked in a bitter dispute with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over corruption charges against their former governor, Yahaya Bello.
Let’s unpack this juicy story
The EFCC recently accused Bello, his nephew (the current Chief of Staff!), and another individual of diverting a cool N100 billion from state funds back in 2015. Now, that’s a lot of missing money!
But the Kogi government isn’t buying it. They’re crying foul, claiming these charges are a political witch hunt orchestrated by enemies of the former governor within the presidency. In other words, they’re saying these accusations are completely fabricated – a desperate attempt to smear Yahaya Bello’s reputation.
The Kogi government is throwing shade at the new president, Bola Tinubu, suggesting he might be unaware of this “ignoble agenda.” They’re basically saying, “Mr. President, these people working for you are playing dirty politics!”
“We believe that this ignoble agenda is unknown to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who trusted those people with power with the hope that they will use it judiciously for the greatness of our nation. Unfortunately, they have decided to use the privileges given to them as tools for political vendetta
“The amended charges in which the name of the former governor was mentioned are false, frivolous, fictitious and far from the truth. They are cooked-up charges that signpost their desperation to call a dog a bad name in order to hang it. The intention was to sensationalise the whole scenario and promote a media war against the former governor and other officials of government.
“We have seen how low EFCC and its paymasters can go in order to pander to the political agenda of those afraid of the rising profile of Alh. Yahaya Bello,” the statement read in part.
This whole situation is a classic case of he-said-she-said. The Kogi government claims transparency, while the EFCC throws out serious corruption allegations. Who to believe?
One thing’s for sure, Nigerians are watching with a healthy dose of skepticism. After all, in the land of politics, alliances can shift faster than the desert wind, and yesterday’s enemy can become tomorrow’s best friend (especially if forgotten loot is involved).
The Kogi government is urging President Tinubu to investigate the EFCC’s activities in their state. Will the president take the bait? Will the truth come out? Only time will tell.
