Kogi NASS members cry out: Gov Bello terrorising us

Eight members of the National Assembly from Kogi state yesterday cried out over alleged tough actions of Governor Yahaya Bello, saying they were being terrorised.
In a joint statement, the lawmakers called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call the governor to order in the interest of democracy in the state and the country at large.
The lawmakers concerned include the three senators from the state.
They are: Senators Dino Melaye (Kogi West), Ahmed Ogembe ( Kogi Central), Atai Aidoko ( Kogi East ).
Those also complaining include five out of the nine members of the House of Representatives.
They are: Karim Sunday, Yusuf Ayo Tajudeen, Egwu Emmanuel, Benjamin Okolo and Omale Hassan Atayoma.
They chronicled series of alleged acts of terrorism the governor has unleashed on them and their supporters within the last one year in their jointly signed statement.
The latest of such actions, according to them, was the prevention of Senator Ogembe from entering Okene last Saturday by suspected thugs of the governor.
He was also chased away by the same set of thugs in March this year during an empowerment programme for his constituents in the same town.
“This cry has become imperative because persons holding contrary or alternative political views with Governor Bello can no longer move freely within the State, neither can they hold political meetings or conduct political activities such as Town Hall Meetings, Constituency Empowerment Programmes without violent interruptions by the state government and its agents.
” The governor has muzzled the state legislators, flagrantly disobeyed the judicial pronouncements of the courts and acting as Lord unto himself and no one else can challenge him in any manner whatsoever despite our constitutional democracy and its well entrenched time- tested principle of checks and balances.
“If, as legislators, we are prevented from constituency visits, and our empowerment programmes are violently disrupted by the governor, one wonders how it would be possible for elections to hold without violence in 2019. “Enough is enough, we hereby call on Mr.
President to instruct the police and other security agencies to be neutral politically and to call the governor to order,” the legislators said.
The aggrieved lawmakers also called on the international community to take note of the happenings in Kogi state in the interest of the nation.

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