The former Commissioner for Information and Communications, Hon. Kingsley Fanwo who contested for the 2023 All Progressives Congress, (APC)’s Yagba Federal Constituency lost the election primaries due to cold war in governor Yahaya Bello’s cabinet involving him and the Commissioner for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Idris Asiru.
Sources in Yagba All Progressives Congress has it that the Commissioner for Finance, Asiwaju Idris Asiru and Kingsley Fanwo who have been serving in Yahaya Bello’s cabinet since 2016 have turned into arch enemies of each other as a result of political interests.
While Fanwo was interested in the lower legislative Chamber of the National Assembly, Asiru was interested in the upper chamber, but in a dramatic twist, both have lost out.
CAPITAL POST obtained a source that Fanwo who was backed by governor Yahaya Bello contested with other aspirants in the primary election and said to be in clear lead in two Local Government Areas, but lost woefully in Yagba East where Asiru and the Yagba East Local Government Council Chairman mobilised delegates to vote Folorunsho Olafemi.
Folorunsho is the son of the former acting governor of Kogi State, Mr Clarence Olafemi.
The source said: “He won Mopamuro and Yagba West. But getting to Yagba East, the Chairman of the Local Government and his brother who is the Finance Commissioner instructed the delegates to vote Folorunsho Olafemi as a result of the cold war between him and the Commissioner.
Folorunsho eventually won 39 to defeat Fanwo 34 including 5 votes he got in Yagba East.
“Yahaya Bello preferred Fanwo for the House of Representatives, but Asiru and his brother worked against his emergence. Imagine they have been losing their polling unit election to the opposition.
He further explained: “Each Local Government Area casted their votes in separate ballot boxes and were sorted separately. So it was easy to know who scored what at where,” he said.
On the other hand, Kingsley Fanwo was alleged to have support for Hon. Sunday Karimi for Senate against Asiru, a development that made the Finance Commissioner vowed to frustrate his emergence as APC flagbearer for the House of Representatives.
Another party chieftain disclosed that the governor told his commissioners to go back home and deliver those he supported to emerge as flagbearers across the State.
The APC primary election was won and lost with two Local Government Council Chairmen who allegedly worked against Bello’s preferred aspirants suspended indefinitely from office.
CAPITAL POST gathered in Lokoja on Monday that the governor was receiving detailed reports on how some of his appointees worked to ensure the emergence of his preferred candidates across the State. Any moment from now those who worked against his instruction risked being sacked from his administration.
