Natasha Akpoti, who was affirmed the winner of the February 2023 Senatorial election for Kogi Central recently by the Court of Appeal, has said that she refused to acknowledge the acceptance of the verdict by Governor Yahaya Bello because the contest was not between her and the Governor.
During an interview with Arise TV, Natasha Akpoti said: “People are born differently. Isn’t it odd that the state governor will issue a statement that he accepts the judgement?
“He wasn’t on the ballot, but he went all out, owning the last election as if it were Yahaya Bello against Natasha at the last election.
“Like I said, people are made differently because while some sit down and allow things to take its natural course, some want to become godfathers at all costs.
“Yahaya Bello falls into the latter category.
“He has a personality, which I’ll say, with all due respect, is deluded. And it makes him want to lord over things and dictate the terms, almost acting like a mini-god on earth, and that is not how life happens.
“I will say this: in 2018, before I joined the SDP and contested for the senatorial seat, I was in the APC for pretty much three months, and I’ll say this.
“The governor called on me just like he called on nine other aspirants at that point, telling each everyone to step down. To some people, he offered money; he offered me money as well. He offered me N50 million at first, but I turned him down.
“He said, How about 70 million? So you step down for my anointed candidate, who was the then senator. I rejected the money. I told him I wasn’t in the race for money.”
Natasha stressed that her motivation for participating in the race was not financial gain but a commitment to advocate for the interests of her constituents in the Senate.
