20 CSOs Carpet CBN Over Kogi Bailout, Alleges APC Import Thugs
The North-Central Transformation Initiative, NCTI, has expressed worry over the failure of the Central Bank of Nigeria in releasing the bailout fund for Kogi State, while other states mostly of the APC states have received theirs.
In a press statement in Abuja on Thursday, National Coordinator of the NCTI, Comrade Isah Atia, accused the CBN of having allowed itself to be dictated to by the ruling APC on which states get the bailout fund despite Kogi having fulfilled all the requirements.
Atia urged the apex bank to insulate itself from politics and the control of politicians if it does not want to create political and financial crises in the country.
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“How come almost all APC states that applied for bailout have got theirs but states like Kogi that have fulfilled all the requirements have been denied theirs with no explanation from the CBN?
“The CBN governor, Mr. Emefiele, has to insulate the apex bank from the shenanigans of politicians to avoid serious political and economic dislocation in the country.
“As representatives of over 20 civil society organisations, we demand that the CBN releases the N50billion bailout due Kogi to ease the suffering of the common people in the state,” the civil society coordinator stated.
Also, the group has raised the alarm that the APC plans to import thugs from neighbouring APC-controlled states during the governorship election into Kogi State on November 21 to foment trouble.
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According to Atia, the plan is to create atmosphere of intimidation and threat to voters backed by federal might, while he warned that the scheme if not arrested urgently could derail peaceful in the state which was the grand design of the opposition party in the state.
“We are aware of plans to compromise the electoral process by the APC by importing thugs into the state prior to the election from APC states sharing border with Kogi.
“We have raised the alarm so that security agencies should take the appropriate measures to foil this devious plan. If the party is confident of securing the mandate of Kogities, it would not be seeking to achieve so through violence.
“The NCTI is confident that the people of Kogi will resist the attempt by the APC or any group or individual to hijack power through the backdoor. I call on the people of the state to stay vigilant and shun agents of violence and destruction,” Atia said.
