By Damilare Adeleye
Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State has dismissed claims that he had approved the establishment of an office for the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello.
It was learnt that Austin Okai, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Representatives candidate for Dekina/Bassa Fender Constituency in the 2023 elections, had asserted in a post via his official X handle on Monday that the new office will be domiciled in the Government House in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.
He claimed that the new office would be occupied by the immediate past Governor of the state, Yahaya Bello.
However, in a press release made available to journalists on Tuesday morning, the Kogi State government through Oladele John NIHI, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, stated that the viral claim is merely a fabrication created by individuals with malicious intentions.
The statement reads: “The attention of the Kogi State Government has been drawn to a mischievous report that the Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, has approved the establishment of the “Office of the Immediate Past Governor” to be domiciled in the Government House.
“The fake news should be disregarded as the handiwork of psychotic mischief makers, who have been thrown into confusion by the unprecedented achievements of our former Governor, His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, CON, and the realisation that the good people of Kogi State sincerely appreciate this.
“The laughable report was concocted to create disaffection and mislead the public but the authors failed woefully to confuse intelligent Nigerians.
“We thank the media for exercising restraint and detecting, on their own, that the report was fake.
“We, however, urge the general public to always fact-check before spreading fake news.”
