After extensive consultations, the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday submitted the name of Yahaya Bello as the party’s new candidate for Kogi governorship supplementary poll.
Bello replaces Prince Abubakar Audu, who died last weekend after leading the poll with 41,000.
It was also learnt that the APC has retained Hon. James Abiodun Faleke as the party’s deputy governorship candidate.
Mohammed Audu, the son of the late governorship candidate, was dumped by the party because the party felt that fielding him might vitiate the entire governorship poll in the state.
But the people of Kogi West were mounting pressure on Faleke yesterday not to accept the nomination of Bello.
Although they asked Faleke to withdraw from the race, the deputy governorship candidate was yet to make up his mind on the next step at press time.
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that APC leaders, with the backing of some forces in the Presidency, opted for Bello because he came second in the party’s primaries behind Audu.
It was also gathered that the APC leaders felt there was no way Mohammed Audu could be fielded as a compromise candidate since he was not a candidate in the primaries.
A top source in APC said: “Our leaders met and after consultations reached a conclusion on the choice of Yahaya Bello from Kogi Central as the party’s governorship candidate to substitute the late Prince Abubakar Audu.
“The leaders arrived at the conclusion because Bello was second to Audu at the validly conducted governorship primaries of the party. Instead of running into crisis with fresh primaries, the party opted to dust up the result of the previous one which was witnessed by INEC.
“A letter, signed by the National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on the choice of Bello has been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday.”
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