By Umar Salam.
Ahead of the November 16 governorship election, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has picked his Chief of Staff, Edward Onoja as his running mate.
It was gathered that Governor Bello submitted Onoja’s name to the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress, APC, last week in Abuja.
The governor and his deputy, Simon Achuba have been at loggerheads over Bello’s alleged refusal to pay up his outstanding allowances and entitlements.
According to a July 7 pre-action notice signed by Femi Falana (SAN) and addressed to Governor Bello on the instructions of the deputy governor, it was revealed that the governor owes his deputy accumulated allowances and other entitlements since 2017, amounting to the sum of N819,709,980.00 (Eight hundred and nineteen million, seven hundred and nine thousand, nine hundred and eighty naira).
Achuba accused Bello of deliberately withholding the statutory allocations approved for the office of the Deputy Governor.
Recall that the Kogi State House of Assembly, had on August 7, commenced impeachment proceedings on the deputy governor.
INSIDER had earlier reported that the majority leader of the House, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello, read a petition against Achuba at plenary, wherein he called for the impeachment of the deputy governor with a claim that 21 lawmakers, out of 25, have signed up for it.
Governor Yahaya Bello emerged as the APC’s flagbearer two weeks ago after winning by a landslide.