Bello’s Unceasing Drama

Known for his constant dramatic exploits, the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, did not disappoint many people recently, when he dissolved his cabinet and less than 30 minutes after, reversed his decision. Yekini Jimoh reports

Kogi State is a peculiar state of sort. There is no week that the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, does not headline the national dailies. Otherwise referred to as the “White Lion”, the governor, many would say, has refused to display the characters of a lion. Here is a governor, who is believed to hardly take decision on his own. Stakeholders are of the belief that his Chief of Staff, Mr. Edward Onoja, is the person behind the mask.

The story out there is that about 90 per cent of the political appointees were made possible one way or the other by the powerful Chief of Staff popularly known as the “White Oracle”. The situation is so awkward that some people are beginning to assume that he sometimes over-rules some decisions already taken by the governor. This is because the governor in most cases directs him to handle sensitive issues.

Sometime ago during a function at the Government House, the Chief of Staff sat on the seat of the governor, when he was addressing political appointees. This is why political appointees fear him as much as they fear the governor. The governor consults him on literally everything.

According to a former acting governor of the state, Chief Clarence Olafemi: “Governor Yahaya Bello is a nice man, when you meet him one on one. He will listen to you and even suggest a way out. But immediately you take your leave, he becomes something else. It’s like somebody somewhere is controlling him. Call him; he will never pick your call again. I believe something is wrong with the government”.

The recent drama in Kogi State, when the governor dissolved his cabinet and in less than 30 minutes reversed his decision clearly showed that Bello might not be in control after all. Before that development, there were speculations that he would dissolve his cabinet and all the 21 administrators of local government councils of the state.

THISDAY reliably gathered that the decision of the governor to sack his cabinet was based on the importation of military wares, a scandal which rattled him. Sources said Bello was surprised how such information was leaked to Senator Dino Melaye, which led to the seizure of the prohibited goods by the Nigeria Custom Service in Abuja.

Melaye was able to give accurate information about the importation of the prohibited goods by the state government. This situation was said to have confused the governor as he was no longer comfortable with his cabinet.

THISDAY learnt that right from Abuja, the governor made up his mind to sack his cabinet as he slated meetings with all the political appointees and the 21 administrators of local government councils on Saturday at the Lugard House, Lokoja.

It was gathered that the governor could not arrive Lokoja that Saturday and the meeting was shifted to Sunday 3pm. Upon his arrival in Lokoja, however, he was said to have met with his Chief of Staff, before meeting the political appointees.

Sources present at that meeting disclosed to THISDAY that before the arrival of the governor at the venue of the meeting, Onoja had addressed the appointees and allegedly told them that the governor had dissolved his cabinet. And after addressing them, he was said to have gone back to the governor and it took them two hours to appear for the meeting.

When the governor finally arrived for the meeting, sources said, he thanked them for being with him in the last two years; pleaded that the political appointees should open their doors for every other person out there, who is willing to come in and accept them for better Kogi.

He was said to have asked them to desist from turning themselves into an attack dogs on the social media instead of broadcasting or showcasing their achievements, and to also desist from the attitude that are unrepresentative of the state.

After this, the governor sacked his 15 commissioners and the 21 local government administrators and directed that all affected officials to summit the keys to their official vehicles to the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Folashade Arike.

But less than 30 minutes after this, the governor reversed his decision and recalled everyone. Contrary to his initial directive, he said all members would continue to work with him as he directed them to maintain status quo. But he demanded better performance and better relationship between the appointees and the masses.
Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mrs. Petra Onyegbule, broke the news, when she posted on her Facebook the same way she broke the news of the cabinet dissolution.

“BREAKING: The governor announced a return to office for all commissioners and administrators; demands better performance and better relationship between the appointees and the masses.

The Director-General, Media and Publicity to the governor, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo, also in a chat with some newsmen said: “The governor has reversed himself on the direction on dissolution.”

However, when the news was trending on the socio media and the online news portal of major dailies, the state government quickly denied the sack of the officials, saying it had not sacked its cabinet and the administrators.
The following day, Onyegbule wrote a statement, apologising for giving out wrong information to the general public.
She said: “Dear friends, my post yesterday on the dissolution of cabinet by His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, was wrong. The subsequent attempt to correct it with another post on reversal only made matters worse. A prepared draft post accidentally got released in circumstances I have ensured will never occur again.
“I regret the misinformation of persons, who followed me for first-hand information on Kogi State. I also apologise to my principal for the unconscionable embarrassment to him and the Kogi State Government.
“Thank you and God bless.”

Some opinion moulders were of the belief that it was the intervention of the Chief of Staff that saved the commissioners and the administrators. According to a source, Onoja had approached the governor and asked him not to dissolve his cabinet but rather, he should give them some time to readjust and that anyone who fails to adjust should be shown the way out of the government.

Unfortunately, the action of the governor has received heavy criticisms from the general public and the opposition party in the state.

Kogi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the action of the governor to reverse the dissolution of the cabinet within minutes was a manifestation of delinquent governance, adding that the governor’s rigmarole on a sensitive issue that affects the lives of the people of the state was the hallmark of his administration’s brazen ineptitude.

In a statement signed by Achadu Dickson, Director Research and Documentation, the PDP said the weekend drama had once again reinforced the party’s position that Bello was not fit to govern the state.
The party, therefore, called on the governor to pay salaries of workers in the state and disagreed with the percentage payment of salaries to council workers after sacking over 80% of the workforce. It also asked him to quickly meet the demands of medical doctors in the state, who have been on four months strike due to non-payment of their salaries, describing the rate of death since the strike as embarrassing.