•SDP chieftain slams Kogi govt over rally ban, says ‘they are afraid of Natasha’

The senator for Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has maintained that President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, initiated her recall process using fake constituents.

In a statement yesterday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said all available evidence and facts pointed directly to Bello as the mastermind behind the recall move.

She cited Bello’s past actions before and during the 2023 general election, when he was accused of orchestrating multiple attacks against her, then as a candidate.

The senator described the recall attempt as a continuation of Bello’s political vendetta against her, and challenged Bello to tell the world where he manufactured the names of those fake constituents calling for her recall.

Akpoti-Uduaghan said in the statement, “I will advise the former governor to rather focus on clearing his name over allegations of fraudulent diversion of N89.2 billion, instead of attempting to destabilise the mandate given to me by the people of Kogi Central.

“The former governor’s hands are already full with corruption allegations, yet he is still bent on frustrating the will of the people.

“His actions before and during the last general election, where he sponsored numerous attacks against me, are well documented. This recall attempt is nothing but another ploy to undermine the people’s will.

“It is now very clear to the whole world how popular I am in my constituency. The powers that be did try to suppress the will of the people but my people emphatically said no. No to injustice, no to exploitation of women, no to fake recall, no to Yahaya Bello and his allies.

“They (my people) came out en masse to resist government intimidations. We thank them for the massive show of love. We also thank our oppressors because their actions have now made them more unpopular while we gained more support.

“As for me, I will do more for my people. I will not betray them. I will continue to give my best and they should be rest assured of our best representation all the time.”

A chieftain of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Isaiah Ijele, accused the Kogi State government of fear and political intimidation following its last-minute ban on public gatherings ahead of Akpoti-Uduaghan’s homecoming rally.

Speaking on ARISE NEWS, Ijele dismissed the government’s security concerns as a mere cover-up. He insisted that the reason behind the restrictions was the growing influence of Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Ijele stated, “They are jittery. They are afraid of the charisma, the ambience, and everything that Senator Natasha carries. She is a young lady.

“I can tell you, among the people on that floor of the senate, the person that has won elections, clean, clear, devoid of all those games that they played against us in 2023, is Senator Natasha. She has the grassroots. She has the people. And that is why they are afraid.”