Kogi alleges smear campaign against governor

Vows to respond with ‘applicable legal force’

Kogi State Government has raised the alarm over the alleged smear campaign against Governor Yahaya Bello ahead of the 2023 general elections.

There have been speculations that Governor Bello is interested in the Presidency, a move that has unsettled some major political actors.

Addressing journalists during its quarterly press briefing, yesterday, the Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, who highlighted some of the achievements of the governor, said the state government was aware of plans to paint the governor in bad light ahead of the 2023 general election.

According to him, plots by certain persons to impute embezzlement of the state’s funds on the governor have been unravelled.

His words: “With all of these achievements, it is unfortunate that some disgruntled political liabilities are still bent on launching a smear campaign on the person of Alhaji Yahaya Bello and the Government of Kogi.”

He revealed that several bloggers and media-guns-for-hire had been contracted on retainership to regularly sully the public space with claims of embezzlement by the governor and his administration.

Fanwo added that some of the figures planned to be thrown around in the days, weeks and months to come represented more money than the administration had even seen together at one time.

“We hope that the press will be vigilant and activate their investigative offices before running with such fabricated and unfounded allegations. Despite intense pressure and lobbying from across the country and even Nigerians in the Diaspora, Bello has not told anyone that he is running for President in 2023.

“His Excellency’s position is that he will give an appropriate answer to his supporters at the appropriate time. But Intelligence reports at our disposal show that a certain person is at the centre of this conspiracy. We will respond to him with the applicable legal force. Our gentleness must not be mistaken for cowardice,” he warned.