Ahead of November 11, governorship election, Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello on Tuesday reached out to journalists within and outside the State seeking for cooperation in their reportage of the happenings, CAPITAL POST, has learnt.
The goodwill to journalists is to downplay negative events and be less critical about as they occur during the governorship electioneering campaign, particularly, as it concerns arrangement, strategies and moves by the State All Progressives Congress, APC against opposition contestants in the election.
Tuesday’s parley saw the governor doling out various sums of money ranging from N2 million to correspondents of some conventional media organisations and online platforms with wider mileage and popularity in the State.
The money, CAPITAL POST was hinted in Lokoja, was to make correspondents and reporters look the other way before, during and after the governoship election slated for November 11, 2023.
It was also learnt that Tuesday’s handouts to journalists was the first tranche as the second tranche would come up in September, 2023, depending on their cooperation.
With this development, media team of the APC governorship candidate, Ododo Ahmed Usman and those of the Government House, popularly called Lugard House are to watch out for compliance of reporters regarding elections in Kogi State.
A source close to Government confided in our correspondent, saying: “He gave some N2,000,000.
He is planning to do another one in September before the election.
“He is planning to use favorable media report as an evidence that the election was free, fair and credible should Muritala Ajaka goes to court.”
The move to placate journalists comes after some groups and individuals in Kogi State protested that the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the State should be redeployed for being too close and a friend of governor Bello.
CAPITAL POST reports that the candidate of the APC, Ododo Ahmed Usman is governor Yahaya Bello’s cousin and a former Auditor General of the State who initiated percentage payment to workers in Kogi State Civil Service and Local Governments since 2016.
Currently, there are two leading governorship candidates, Muritala Yakubu Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party, SDP and Vice Admiral Jibrin Oyibe Usman (Rtd) of Accord Party contesting governorship.
However, opposition consensus candidate is being worked out in Kogi East before the November 11, a development that is said to be giving Bello and Ododo sleepless nights.
