Kogi youths attack elders over Bello

THE political scene in Kogi State became more tensed as youths from the eastern senatorial district of the state blasted the Kogi East Elders Council (KEEC), over its alleged attack on the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

The youth accused the KEEC headed by Col Ahmadu Ali (rtd) of trying to protect their personal agenda.

Speaking under the aegis of the Kogi East Coalition of Youths for Good Governance, the youth noted that many of the allegations levelled against Bello by the KEEC were unfounded and concocted lies.

The spokesperson of the group, Alfred Ishaka, while addressing newsmen at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kogi state council, accused the Kogi east elders of keeping silent when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ruled the state for 13 years without much development to the eastern senatorial district.

According to the youth, the allegations raised by the KEEC, which included insecurity, unpaid salaries, stalemate at the Kogi State University, Anyigba, among others were deliberate attempt to orchestrate conflict between the zone and the government.

Ishaka explained that the elders, many of who live outside the state raised the allegations because they were disconnected with the development in the state, adding that the state had witnessed unprecedented development in the last two years.

The Kogi East youths also noted that the present administration had been fair to the senatorial district in terms of distribution of projects and appointments as the zone had the highest number of appointments.

He said, “at least 60 per cent of Governor Yahaya Bello’s appointees are from Kogi East senatorial district, including the deputy governor. Similarly, the list of projects in the region is practically endless and constitutes a similar percentage of the aggregate number of projects and monies spent by the administration.”

The youth, who passed a vote of confidence on the governor however said, “It is therefore clear that the Kogi East Elders Council does not have a mandate or the support of the traditional institutions and the people of Kogi east senatorial district, they must be ignored and forgotten”.

It would be recalled that the KEEC in a statement by Ali last week had described the Bello – led administration in the state as an “unmitigated disaster”.

The group noted that the state had not witnessed any meaningful development since the coming on board of Bello, decrying the state of insecurity, crime, non payment of salaries of workers, among others.