Faleke, Bello battle in Abuja

 Supporters clash at secretariat
APC meeting deadlocked

By Bode Olagoke
Abuja

The contest for the governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress in next Saturday’s election in Kogi state,   yesterday took a violent dimension with supporters of the two top contenders, Yahya Bello and James Biodun Faleke taking up arms against themselves at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

Just as they were doing battle outside the party secretariat, effort by the party hierarchy to reach  a truce also hit the rock with Faleke insisting that he remains the only beneficiary of the entire arrangement.

Both contenders stormed the party’s national secretariat in company with their huge supporters who could not control their emotions and consequently let the hell loose.
The face-off started around one o’clock when supporters of  Faleke arrived the party secretariat to meet those of Bello who were already on ground, protesting in solidarity with their candidate.
And characteristic of such meeting, a row suddenly broke out with one group taunting the other, consequent upon which there was pandemonium that threw the entire arena into crisis for almost two hours.

Although no life was lost during the fracas,  several persons were injured and cars damaged, including that belonging to an  African Independent Television (AIT) reporter, Anayoyo Ogiagboviogie who also sustained some degrees of injury.
Both Bello and Faleke are jostling to replace the former governorship candidate of the party, late Abubakar Audu, who passed on at the completion of the inconclusive governorship election in the state.

While  Faleke, who was Audu’s running mate had written the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC to declare him the  party’s standard bearer and governor-elect,
Bello, who was the second runner-up in the party’s primaries, got  the party’s nod Audu’s  replacement.
Blueprint observed how supporters of both contenders engaged themselves in a free-for-all  with the two groups showing strength as stones, cudgels and related weapons were  freely used, while they  ceaselessly  chanted  name of their preferred candidate.

It however took a reinforcement of stern-looking security agents to chase the restive youths away, thus restoring sanity.
Meanwhile, after four hours of intensive close-door consultation by the party leadership last night, the meeting could still not resolve the lingering crisis over who replaces Audu, ahead of Saturday’s supplementary polls in the state.

Storming out of the meeting, a visibly embittered Faleke spoke with journalists and  claimed that he was already a governor-elect, vowing therefore  not to be part of any other election by the electoral body.
He said the party and its leadership never consulted him before submitting Bello’s name as the late Audu’s replacement  even as he vowed to challenge the decision in court.
The party’s running mate expressed shock that the party’s leadership, led by the national chairman, Chief John Oyegun, invited them to the meeting just to brief them that Bello’s name had been submitted to INEC as replacement.
Faleke said:

“The party told us that they have nominated Alhaji Yahaya Bello and of course we made it clear as the political family of Prince Abubakar Audu, we told them that it is not acceptable and we are not going with it and I personally observed that my name has been submitted to INEC as deputy governorship candidate to pair with Alhaji Yahaya Bello and told the National Chairman in very clear words  that Mr. Chairman, I have submitted a letter this morning distancing myself from that decision that on no ground will I want to be associated with the decision of the party to pair me with Alhaji Yahaya Bello because I am already governor-elect.
“I also told him, Mr. Chairman for us as  Audu’s family, Kogi state political family, we are not taking part in that election. My  name cannot be submitted because I was not even consulted in the first instance.”

The late Audu’s running-mate further claimed that he was already the governor-elect, and, “therefore, cannot become another deputy governorship candidate.”
“I want to make it very clear that Alhaji Yahaya Bello did not take part in all our campaign process and we are only contesting election in 91 polling units out of 2, 548 (or there about) polling units and we have made it very clear that if they go ahead to conduct election because I have pulled out, that election would be challenged in the court of law, it will be null and void.

“We won’t be addressing you today if the party out of honour and the path of honour we championed there, is for the party to go to court and challenge INEC and Mr. Chairman told us directly right away without considering it twice that the party will not go to court, and since the
party is not going to court, we have taken it upon ourselves as our right to defend ourselves in court and we are challenging the decision.”