Kogi: ‘The Boy Doesn’t Know What He’s Doing’ Ebira Monarch Regrets Supporting Yahaya Bello

The Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Abdul Rahman Ado Ibrahim, has expressed regret for supporting Yahaya Bello to be governor of Kogi State ahead of the 2015 governorship election in the state.

According to Ibrahim, Governor Bello has lost the goodwill of the people of Kogi because he allowed money to get to his head and surrounded himself with “extremely wrong people”.

The monarch, who rules Ebiraland where Bello hails from, expressed doubt that the governor would be able to get the peoples’ support in the November 21, 2019 governorship election in the state because “he (Bello) is a different thing today.”

“So there is this issue of the boy not knowing what he should do because he has extremely wrong people around him. Bello is a nice young man and highly intelligent; that is why I recommended him at that time,” Ibrahim told Daily Trust in an interview.

“People said I was supporting Bello because he is my cousin. Well, partly, that could be one reason. Two, he had money to do it, and that money is what has misled him so far.

“A good person should always put money aside and put reality in the front. Money should just be a palliative anytime you need it.

“The governor did not allow traditional rulers to advise him. I haven’t sat with him to advise him on issues that are required to stabilise the peace of the people. I think I should advise him on policy issues, but he gave more time to those who idolize him. He is enjoying that.”

On the non-payment of workers’ salaries in the state, the monarch said: “For the assessment, I can’t say much, I can only talk about what people are saying and what I read in the papers.

“I don’t know how he does it. If people say he didn’t pay salaries, I cannot say why he didn’t do that. As far as I am concerned, he is paying salaries. I cannot comment on whatever they say he is doing.”

According to Ibrahim, he doesn’t want the relationship between him and Governor Bello soiled regardless of the poor remarks he’s getting of the governor.

The Ohinoyi said even though the people of Ebira don’t want to hear him say it, he still prays for Bello’s re-election.

“Whatever I want to say is that my human relation with him should not be put to shame. I introduced him and favoured him in place of others. I did my own assessment of him at that time. He is a different thing today, as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

“His relationship with Ebira people is a bit dented because he has more relationship with the Igala people, who are leading him in government. And they are the people I am now talking to so that they will have a change of mind and vote him back.

“Honestly, they have the votes. All I am trying to do is to get them to give him another term, after that if they don’t need to see his face anymore they can seal his fate. Whatever term they want to give, I’m prepared to go to any length.

“I’m really trying to get my people to support his second term, but I know that they don’t want to hear me say that.”