Bello, Kogi Gov-elect to hit the ground running

The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Alh. Yahaya Bello as the winner of the Kogi governorship poll. APC polled 247,752 votes to defeat PDP who came a strong second with 204,877 votes.
In today’s supplementary poll, APC polled 6885 votes to beat PDP which polled 5363 votes. INEC declares Yahaya Bello Kogi Governor-Elect. Declaring the results in Lokoja, the Chief Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Emmanuel Kucha, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, said having fulfilled all legal requirements, Alh. Yahaya Bello is declared winner of the election and Kogi Governor-Elect. Kucha declared:

“That Yahaya Bello, having polled the highest number of votes and satisfied the law is hereby returned elected”. Immediately the results were announced, the streets of Lokoja, Kotonkarfe and Okene erupted in jubilation as people poured into the streets in hundreds to celebrate the victory. At Isanlu, Bello Support Organization said it is victory for democracy. Chief Strategist of the organization, Abdulrasaq Ashiru said Yahaya Bello is God-sent for Kogi redemption.

In his words: “This is the moment we have been waiting for; the moment of history. This is the time we have worked for; the hour of renaissance. Generations after us will be told the history of this day. “You can see the state-wide jubilation. That is the level of acceptance of the man, Yahaya Bello. He is the symbol of a new direction for our dear state. It is high time we placed emphasis on the factors that unite us. We are one people. “To the people’s governor, the time for ethnic equality is now. We must be united by the actions of government so that we can move forward as a state”.

 Also, a former Chairman of Okene Local Government Area, Hon. Saliu Ohize said Yahaya Bello’s victory is a product of the works of the late political leader of Ebiraland, Sen. A.T. Ahmed. “Today, I am shedding tears of joy and regret. Joy in the sense that a great governor has emerged. Regret in the sense that our leader, Sen. A.T. Ahmed is not here today to savour the fruits of his labour”. When our reporters contacted the governor-elect, Alh. Yahaya Bello, he said the victory belongs to all Kogites, asking everybody to rally round him to translate the victory to a success.