Protest at EFCC's office politically motivated —Kogi Group

The Kogi Collective Interest Group, (KOCIG) has described the protest at Economical Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headquarters against the former Governor of the state, Yahaya Bello, as politically motivated. 

The Chairman of the group, Abdulganiyu Yusuf, stated this in a statement issued on Friday. 

The statement read, “It has come to the attention of the Kogi Collective Interest Group, KOCIG, the renewed onslaughts of some disgruntled political elements in Kogi State to resurrect their agenda of blackmail via unproven corruption allegations against the immediate former Governor of Kogi State,  His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello. 

“KOCIG has over one million active members across the three senatorial districts of Kogi State, all the 21 local governments. Members believe in the unity and progress of our dear state and hold leaders accountable at all levels. 

“We saw the ragtag crowd of hungry non-Kogites that they assembled to go to the national headquarters of the EFCC today to submit their baseless petition, alongside some rejected former office holder who does nothing now other than go from one top politician to the other begging for alms all in the name of being able to mobilise rallies against their opponents. Kogites have gone beyond senseless propaganda.

“We wish to make it abundantly clear that this is a politically motivated protest sponsored by political desperados and ethnic jingoists who see that they have been thoroughly thrashed at home and are seeking crooked means of staying relevant. That they are hellbent on blackmailing the former Governor who has done nothing but excellent jobs in Kogi State during his eight years as Governor is not news. What may be news is the fact that they are confronted with the reality that in Nigeria of today, under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, it is no longer easy to witch-hunt political opponents without regard for the rule of law. 

“For one, as bona-fide citizens of Kogi State, we are aware of the clandestine conspiracy by some disgruntled local politicians who are still licking the wounds of their defeat in the last governorship election to blackmail Alhaji Yahaya Bello with baseless allegations of corruption and attempting to drag the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, into their dirty political fights to nail a man who many attest to his achievements.

“This is where the EFCC leadership must be wary of becoming an accidental tool of vendetta in the hands of politicians who are so desperate to get their evil and dark objectives achieved at all costs. The EFCC must be above board and treat all petitions strictly on their merits and not pay attention to political miscreants who are playing to the gallery. 

“Looking at the unprecedented infrastructural developments in Kogi State under the eight-year administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello, Kogites are forever grateful for the insight and management expertise of the former Governor. With all the legacy projects in education, healthcare, roads, security and so forth, there is nowhere left for any money to be misappropriated. It is public knowledge that an international financial institution like The World Bank gave Kogi State a clean bill of health in the areas of transparency and fiscal accountability more than once under Yahaya Bello. 

“All investigations of corruption allegations against the former Governor till date have come back empty because there was no substance to them but his political enemies have remained implacable. 

“The man who led today's protest further alleged that Yahaya Bello has been suppressing the news of his group's activities. The question is what activities has his group been engaging in that were suppressed by anybody? This can only mean that he is desperately trying to justify the humongous resources he has been milking from the unsuspecting financiers to stage such protests.

“In the first instance, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to the best of our knowledge, does not own a media organization. Moreover, he is not a member of the editorial board of any media company and, therefore, cannot influence any news that should get published or not. 

“News media determine which activity is newsworthy or not and decide which deserves to be published or not. But because of the ignorance and deliberate mischief of these political jobbers, they attributed their failures to a third party.  

“This is not an age where some hungry political miscreants can just gather and make spurious allegations in the public and think they should not be held accountable. As responsible Kogites, we do not take kindly to bringing down leaders who have served us well. 

“In this particular case, we will demand that these imprudent characters show proofs of their reckless allegations against Yahaya Bello to the public or a Court of competent jurisdiction. It is the sole responsibility of who alleges to show indubitable proofs of their allegations and they must be ready to prove that. 

“We will employ all legal means to hold them accountable for the gross indiscretions and blackmail that they have committed  because their ill-conceived actions are also rubbing off negatively against the image of Kogi State and its people. 

“The EFCC must beware and not fall into the manipulative agenda of disgruntled politicians that want to use the Commission to achieve their selfish goals against a perceived political enemy. This won't augur well for the Commission in terms of local and international perception.