A youth group under the aegis of Progressive Youth Alliance has declared their support for Barrister Babatunde Irukera, for the governoship position of the state, but however warned against giving the All Progressive Congress (APC) ticket to incumbent Governor Yahaya Bello.
The group cautioned the national leadership of APC on the danger inherent in fielding governor Bello as it’s standard flag bearer.
It said the victory of the party can’t be guaranteed with such arrangement.
Addressing newsmen in Lokoja on Tuesday, the spokesman of the group Mr Amos Alfa said Bello’s administration would go down in the history of Kogi State as the most atrocious, given its backlogs of debts, accrued pension, refusal to pay workers salaries, absence of probity in the management of resources and deficient public service management.
According to him, “The present administration does not represent the yearnings of the good people of Kogi State. Therefore, this negates the party principle.
“It is instructive to note that he is daily depleting the goodwill of the party even beyond the borders of Kogi State.
He stated that contrary to public opinion that governor Bello set the stage for President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory during the 2019 Presidential election, Alfa said, “It was a lie peddled to undermine the effort of committed members of the party at the state and local government level.
“It was the collective efforts of people who believed in the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari that worked assiduously to ensure the victory of the party in Kogi State,”.
The group declared that under the umbrella of Progressive Youth Alliance which it said is an amalgamation of various support groups across the state, ” we have spoken in one accord and collectively resolve through this call to action to the Director General Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Barrister Babatunde Irukera to throw his hat in the ring by contesting the exalted position of the governor of Kogi State.
According to him, Irukera is a bridge-builder, a consensus builder, and committed to the visions and principles of the APC, stressing that he has been tested, proven, qualified and most suitable for the task of being the party candidate in the forthcoming election.
