The Kogi State Governor-elect, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has described his embattled deputy, James Faleke as his brother and that All Progressives Congress (APC) has the capacity to resolve the misunderstanding thrown up by the death of Prince Abubakar Audu during the election period.
Faleke was reported to have said that he would not attend the inauguration of Bello and not support him.
In a statement today in Abuja by his media assistant, Suleiman Abdulmalik, the governor-elect said that he believed in dialogue remains, saying that he has absolute confidence in the leadership of the party to end the disagreement.
He made it clear that the development remains a family affair, adding: “I will continue to appeal to him and others to join hands with me in moving Kogi State forward. In politics, we agree and disagree, but dialogue remains the only solution to issues.
“But what happened in my state is an act of God.”
Bello said that most of the supporters of the late governorship candidate of the APC, Prince Abubakar Audu, are now with him.
“Those who matter in Audu’s camp are already working for me even before the supplementary election and the reconciliation effort greatly helped in defeating the Peoples Democratic Party.”
The statement also advised Faleke to accept the outcome of the election as the wish of God.
“All hands must be on deck and we must rally round our candidate and the governor-elect, Alhaji Yahaya Bello. No winner no vanquished; we must continue as one united family that we are.
“Hon James Abiodun Faleke and other aggrieved party members should accept the new development as the wish of God. We plead with them to cooperate with Bello to develop the state in line with the vision of our late icon, Prince Abubakar Audu.
“The governor-elect is a humble man who will not discriminate against anyone within the party. All Kogites should pray for and work towards peace, stability and progress of the state. We are using this opportunity to emphasize the need for the people to support their leaders for the benefit of all.” [myad]
