The governor of Kogi State has given a reply to INEC after being accused of registering two times for his voter's card.
Yahaya Bello
Governor Yahaya Bello
of Kogi has dismissed allegation by the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) that he registered twice as a voter in Abuja and subsequently in Lokoja.
Bello stated this when he spoke to State House correspondents in Abuja on Friday after observing the two-raka’at Juma’at prayer at the Aso Rock Mosque.
INEC
on May 25 via a statement issued by one of its National Commissioners
and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mr
Solomon Soyebi, alleged that Bello registered twice as a voter.
Soyebi said the governor first registered in Abuja in January, 2011, and subsequently on May 23, 2017, in Government House, Lokoja.
He described the governor’s double registration and doing so outside lNEC’s designated centres as illegal.
Reacting to the allegation, Bello said it might be his ghost that must have done the double registration and not him.
“I
travelled on (May) 19 to Dubai for a brief break and I saw the press
release and I was taken aback that I did a double registration on (May)
23rd, probably is my ghost that must have done the double registration.
“I
think INEC has earned itself a very high reputation and I’m very
confident that the leadership of INEC will not allow some elements to
drag its name into the mud.
“Actually, that is a falsehood; I did not do double registration of permanent voter card,’’ he said.
The INEC statement read: “It has come to the attention of INEC that Gov. Bello of Kogi state registered as a voter for the second time on Tuesday May 23, 2017, in Government House, Lokoja, the state capital.
“His first registration was on January 30, 2011, in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja.
“The governor’s double registration and doing so outside lNEC’s designated centres are both illegal.
“For
the on-going Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise, INEC has
designated a centre in each of the country’s 774 local government areas
including FCT’s six area councils.’’
NAN
reports that INEC has since dissociated itself from the governor’s
action while it also pledged to take disciplinary action against its
staff implicated in the second registration for Bello.
On
outstanding salary arrears of workers in Kogi, the governor pledged to
abide by the decision of the Governors’ Forum to use part of the
outstanding Paris Club refund meant for the state to settle the arrears.
Bello
also frowned at those calling for his impeachment over alleged
non-performance, saying his achievements in the last 15 months could be
seen by well-meaning citizens of the state.
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