GOVERNOR Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, yesterday, dismissed a media report insinuating that he has withdrawn support for the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, insisting the report was “planted by desperate political jesters.”

Similarly, the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the state APC Campaign Council, yesterday, faulted the report accusing Governor Bello of working at cross-purposes with its PCC to frustrate the chances of its standard bearer.

A national newspaper (not Vanguard) had alleged that Governor Bello has withdrawn support for Tinubu.

I remain ardent mobiliser for Tinubu —Bello

Reacting to the report, Governor Bello described the allegation as fake news.

Speaking on the Channels Television programme tagged Sunday Politics, the governor insisted that he remains an ardent supporter and mobiliser for Tinubu. He also insisted that the newspaper retracts the publication and “tender a public apology within the next 24 hours.”

His words: “According to you, there is no smoke without fire. In this particular instance, the fire in the air cannot be sustained. The fake news is most unfortunate. I urge law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies and particularly media practitioners to quickly move and address the situation.

“The current electoral law empowers even INEC to investigate things like this and prosecute those who perpetuate fake news. I remain an ardent supporter and mobiliser for our leader and President in the waiting, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima. They are the President and Vice President in the waiting.

“I don’t know why such a respected media house would be dragged into this messy situation. I expect them to retract that particular publication and tender a public apology within the next 24 hours.”

Asked why he was not supporting some youth movement of the APC in Kogi, the governor said: “Until anybody comes to challenge me on air, I would not take it with a pinch of salt. Before I became a governor, I have been a party stakeholder since 2014 and we have been nurturing the party up till date.

“There is no assignment that I have not carried out diligently and delivered on the task given to me. If you recall, we were able to mobilise over 41 million youths and persons living with disabilities for our great party. I contested for this particular ticket but God gave it to our leader and President in waiting. I learned from him because he’s a general in the game.

“I don’t even need Asiwaju to reach out to me before working for him because I believe in him and I studied him and I pray he succeeds and wins the presidential election.”

Kogi APC slams report

Also reacting, the Kogi State APC campaign council described the report as an “absolute falsehood and a concoction borne out of malice.”

The Commissioner for Information, who doubles as the Director of Media and Publicity of the Kogi State APC Campaign Council, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, in a statement, said the report was done in bad faith, “spurious, malicious and a badly delivered hatchet job.”

The statement read: “The publication was mischievous and was out to create distrust, acrimony and chaos in the party by people desperately trying to disparage the unbending commitment of the Governor to the success of the APC in the Presidential election.

“Governor Yahaya Bello is constantly on the drawing board, galvanising Kogites and youths across Nigeria to massively support the man he calls the President-in-Waiting, Senator Bola Tinubu.

“This will definitely not go down well with open and veiled detractors of our Presidential candidate, who would go to any length to paint a picture of crisis where there is absolutely none. Aside from winning and sustaining the support of the majority of Nigerian youths for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Governor Yahaya Bello has effectively mobilised Kogites to deliver not less than 95 percent Kogi votes to the presidential candidate of our party.

“It is, therefore, not a surprise that those who want to share in the glory of the impending landslide victory without contributing to the efforts, are hiding behind ‘the evils of journalistic anonymity’ to cause disaffection.”

“Governor Bello is proud of the presidential candidate of his party and has no doubt, whatsoever, in the capacity of Tinubu to take Nigeria to the desired level. It is laughable, ludicrous and unthinkable to insinuate that the man working so hard to deliver massive votes for the Presidential Candidate of the party is the one nay sayers would accuse of non-commitment.

“The Town Hall Meeting to bring the presidential candidate of the party face-to-face with the Nigerian youths at the nation’s capital remains one of the boldest highlights of the campaign till date. The governor also remains the only known contestant in the Presidential primaries to have donated his campaign secretariat to our candidate, which is being used by the youth directorate of the campaign till today.

APC defends gov

Also rising in defence of the governor, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, insisted that “the story is maliciously false and a figment of the imagination of its author and sponsors.”

Morka, in a statement, said: “Governor Yahaya Bello who serves as the National Youth Coordinator of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, is a solid, resourceful and committed campaigner for our party’s candidate, leading a massively successful outreach to youth voters across the country.

“This fake news ostensibly intended to float an imagined rift between Governor Yahaya Bello and James Faleke, Secretary of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, is the desperate and disgraceful conjecture of opposition elements unsettled by our party’s giant campaign strides.

“Both loyal party men are unquestionably committed and working tirelessly for the resounding victory of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in next month’s presidential election”

“We urge our party compatriots and all Nigerians to disregard this fake news.”