Federal lawmakers from Kogi cry out over Governor Bello’s alleged harassment

Yahaya Bello

Some members of the National Assembly from Kogi State have accused the State Governor, Yahaya Bello of intimidation and harassment.

The Federal lawmakers alleged that Bello’s harassment has made it difficult for lawmakers who hold different political views to visit their constituencies.

In a joint press statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, 8 of the 12 lawmakers from Kogi urged President Muhammadu Buhari to caution Bello in the interest of the state and democracy.

The three members of the Senate among them are Senators Dino Melaye (Kogi-West), Ahmed Ogembe (Kogi-Central), and Atai Aidoko (Kogi-East). The House of Representatives members are Karim Sunday, Yusuf Ayo, Tajudeen, Egwu Emmanuel, Benjamin Okolo and Omale Atayoma.

The lawmakers recalled series of alleged acts of intimidation against them and their supporters by the governor in the last one year.

The statement reads, “This cry has become imperative because persons holding contrary or alternative political views with Governor Yahaya Bello can no longer move freely within the state, neither can they hold political meetings or conduct political activities such as town hall meetings, and constituency empowerment programmes without violent interruption by the state government and its agents.

“The governor has muzzled the state legislators, flagrantly disobeyed the pronouncements of the courts and acting as lord unto himself, and no one else can challenge him in any manner whatsoever despite our constitutional democracy and its well entrenched, time-tested principle of checks and balances.

“If, as legislators, we are prevented from constituency visits, and our empowerment programmes are violently disrupted by the governor, one wonders how it would be possible for elections to hold without violence in 2019.”