I won’t leave office – Kogi acting gov

Kogi State Acting Governor Abdullahi Bello says he will not leave office, despite calls on him to step down for governor-elect, Alhaji Idris Wada.

He was said to have been directed to hand over to Wada at a Peoples Democratic Party meeting presided over by Vice-President Namadi Sambo in Abuja on Sunday, with him and Wada in attendance.

Bello, who was sworn-in by the state Chief Judge, Nassir Ajannah, said he remained the acting governor of the state.

The former Speaker of the House of House of Assembly, said he would not hand over to Wada, who was sworn-in by the President of Customary Court, Justice Ibrahim Atadoga.

Bello, in a statement in Lokoja on Monday, denied he had stepped down, saying the reports of his reliquishing power was aimed at distabilising the state.

The statement reads, “The attention of the Kogi State Government has been drawn to a calculated plot to destabilise and cause a breach of peace in the state. Part of the design is to undermine the office of the Acting Governor, by spreading falsehood that he has relinquished his position.

“Accordingly, government wishes to state that the said story is untrue, unimaginable and totally unfounded.

“Government wishes to place on record that the position of an Acting Governor is not a creation of any form of political conjecture but a product of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Government wishes to state further that the Acting Governor was administered with the oath of office by the Chief Judge of Kogi State on the 27/01/2012, in line with the letters of the constitution.

“Government wishes to assure the people of Kogi State that the Acting Governor will not submit himself to any act that will be deemed to be an affront to the constitution of the republic of Nigeria.”

Also, in the statement, Bello announced the removal of the “Secretary to the State Government, the Chief of Staff and all other political appointees of their appointments with immediate effect.”

He directed that the affected officers to hand over government property in their possession to the permanent secretary or the most senior staff in their respective ministries or departments.

He also called on all security agencies in the state to provide adequate protection of lives and property in the state.

Source: PUNCH