Faleke to Gov Bello: Don’t Drag Buhari Into Double Registration Saga

Governor Yahaya Bello has been warned to desist from dropping President Muhammadu Buhari’s name for his political gains.

Chairman, House of Representatives on Customs and Excise, James Faleke said it was wrong for the governor to have claimed to be mentored by the President over his double voter registration issue with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Faleke was the Deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 gubernatorial election in Kogi state.

In a reaction Tuesday, Faleke said governor Bello should desist from dragging the name of the President in the mud over the issue because such attitude was a direct opposite to the principles that the President Buhari stands for.

Saying that Bello should rather deal with the consequences of the double registration by himself because President Buhari is reputed for his virtues of incorruptibility, honesty, discipline and spartan life style while Gov. Bello is known for his unbridled extravaganza and indiscipline.

He said: “Yahaya Bello should stop using the president’s name to commit illegality.

“I make bold to tell the governor that he has disgraced the good people of Kogi with his criminal act of double registration.

“I can confirm that Governor Bello did his first registration in Abuja on January 30, 2011, while he did the second illegal registration on May 22, 2017 at Government House, Lokoja.

“I challenge him to go to court on this. It is an incontrovertible fact. The governor ought to have known that for a body like INEC to come up with such a decision, it must have gotten its facts right.

“After the registration, the governor’s camp in wild celebration to prove that the governor had succeeded in registering in Kogi state at last, went to town with pictures of the registration process backed by a press release signed by the Director – General of his media team, Kingsley Fanwo explaining why the governor had to re-register in Kogi.

“It is very unfortunate that the Governor even went ahead to induce some INEC staff to remove the hard-drive from the computer used in committing the illegal registration in order to hide his criminal intensions. I have my facts and I also challenge him to go to court on this”.

It would be recalled that Governor Bello was last week accused of double registration by the INEC.

While three INEC workers  involved were relieved of their duties, it said the governor would have been prosecuted but for the immunity he enjoys.

The governor had since denied any involvement in the double registration accusation, stating that having received regular mentorship from President Buhari, he has been operating above board in his official duties.