Yahaya Bello: Ododo not my family — he became Kogi APC flagbearer on merit

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, said that he has no blood relationship with the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, Usman Ododo.

The Governor on Friday explained that the two of them may be from the same place but they don’t share any blood relationship.

He also accused the opposition parties of being behind rumours of the relationship between himself and Ododo.

Speaking during the third edition of the ‘Governor Yahaya Bello Seminar for Political and Crime Correspondents/Editors’ in Abuja, with the theme, ‘Fight against insecurity: Achieving results in a challenging environment: The Kogi example,’ Governor Yahaya added that Ododo emerged from a keenly contested but free and fair primary election of the APC.

Bello said: “Ododo has endeared himself to the people of Kogi. How can you be the most popular candidate, positioned to win, and still instigate violence?

“Ododo and I may come from the same place but we do not share any blood relationship whatsoever. Do your findings. He is a very compassionate, hardworking and competent fellow, and those qualities spoke for him at the primaries.”

“Ethnic sentiments set Kogi back for 19 years and we must break away from that for competence. My administration has changed the narrative of ethnicity and has been appointing and working with competent people as against choosing people from tribes in the state.

“We raise people from different backgrounds, irrespective of their senatorial zones,” he added.

“Anyone can choose to remember me for what I have achieved. I want to be remembered for that man who took up the challenge of leadership in Kogi State in areas of disunity, insecurity, poor dividends of democracy and in all areas of challenge, as one who came and laid a solid foundation for a new Kogi State to thrive,” he said.