Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has admitted to destroying major roads leading to the hometown of Natasha Akpoti, the senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Kogi central.
KanyiDaily recalls that Natasha had accused Governor Bello of excavating all access roads leading to her Ihima hometown in Okehi local government area of the state.
Natasha alleged that the move was a deliberate attempt by the governor to keep her hostage, obstruct Saturday’s elections and prevent INEC officials from coming to her senatorial district.
However, in a statement on Friday night, Kogi’s commissioner for information and communications, Kingsley Fanwo, said the road excavation was a deliberate security measure.
According to him, the roads were cut off to divert traffic and prevent criminals who have been breaching the peace of the area from plying the roads.
Fanwo added that the move is a preemptive measure to stop terrorists from unleashing havoc on Kogi people, citing a bomb blast that occurred in December during a visit by President Muhammadu Buhari and the recent attacks by gunmen.
The statement reads, “The Government of Kogi State wishes to inform members of the public that the excavation of some roads in Kogi Central was to cut off traffic on those roads as a security measure to restrict the use of those roads by criminals who have been breaching the peace of the area.
“It would be recalled that a couple of days ago, the Secretariat Complex of Okehi Local Government suffered from the effect of an explosive devise.
“The security agencies ensured no life was lost as a result of the explosion, but the State Government convened an emergency Security Council Meeting to address the security challenges in the area with a view to devising strategies of averting possible future occurrence, especially as we witnessed similar explosion on December 29, 2022 at Okene.
“One of the measures arrived at was to restrict the number of routes to the flashpoints to enable security agents properly mount effective surveillance on the other access roads for the safety of the people, especially as they go to the polls on Saturday February 25,2023. We thank the State Ministry of Works and Urban Development for their proactive efforts on the road.
“The cry of one Mrs Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over the measure to ensure security is therefore not a surprise. As an indigene of Okehi Local Government Area, she has not considered it expedient till now to sympathize with her people over the explosion that affected Okehi Local Government Area Secretariat Complex.
“To her, their lives do not matter. But she was quick to characteristically blackmail the State Government when measures were taken to protect her people. Does she benefit anything from insecurity in Kogi Central? How does the streamlining of routes into the flash point affect her?
“Some of the masterminds of the Okene blast of December 29, 2022 have been arrested and they are giving useful statements to security agents. With the current measures in Okehi Local Government, we are confident that the cowards who attacked the symbol of unity of the Okehi people will not escape from justice.
“Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan should recognise the fact that the administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello will never slaughter security on the slab of politics and will ruthlessly deal with criminal elements and their sponsors whose hearts are not immersed in the culture of peace of the Ebira Nation.
“As a Government, our responsibility is to protect the Kogi people and sometimes, we have to take drastic and even temporarily discomforting steps to achieve that. INEC and security agents have not complained about accessing every part of Okehi Local Government Area in particular and Kogi Central in general. Why is Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan crying on behalf of INEC when as an institution, INEC has communication structures and platforms?
“We also wish to call on Kogites to disregard allegations of trying to use local militias to harass voters. The protagonists of such fiction are elements who want to create panic in the state because of desperation to provoke chaos to cover up for their political feebleness.
“We assure the people of Kogi Central and Kogi State in general to come out enmasse to cast their votes as adequate security arrangements are in place to protect them before, during and after the polls. Those who need to worry and criminals who will never be spared in the state.”
KanyiDaily recalls that Natasha Akpoti also accused Governor Yahaya Bello of attempting to have her murdered in 2019 when she was the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in Kogi State.
