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Kogi govt alleges smear campaign against Yahaya Bello

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The Kogi State Government has alleged of a vicious smear campaign against Governor Yahaya Bello ahead of the upcoming general elections in 2023.

This was stated by the Kogi Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, during a quarterly media parley on Sunday.

Fanwo said the state government was aware of plans to paint the governor in bad light ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

“There are speculations that the governor is interested in contesting for presidency in 2023, a move which has unsettled some major political actors, especially with the fast rising profile of Yahaya Bello.”

He further revealed schemes by naysayers to defame the Governor with allegations of embezzlement of state funds.

“Intelligence reports at our disposal show that a certain George whose other details we prefer to keep for now, is at the centre of this conspiracy.

“With all of these achievements, it is unfortunate that some disgruntled persons are still bent on launching a smear campaign on the governor and government of Kogi.

“Fresh on the heels of the discredited allegations against the Kogi government by the EFCC, we are aware of several plots to paint the Bello administration black on a regular basis from now till 2023,” the commissioner said.

Read also: Competence, not zoning should determine next President in 2023 —Yahaya Bello

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

“We hope the media will be vigilant and activate its investigative offices before running with such allegations.

”If and when the smear campaign manifests, we will respond with the applicable legal force. Our gentleness must not be mistaken for cowardice.

“The first one was the allegations through the EFCC, that has been sufficiently punctured; now they have moved to concoct statements and allegations that some billions of naira have been embezzled.

“We just want members of the public to be sufficiently aware that the reason they are doing this is to score political goals and paint the governor, who is already enjoying the support of many Nigerians, with their black grudge,” the commissioner added.

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