Yahaya Bello promised me succession before backing Ododo — Kogi ex-deputy governor, Edward Onoja

Edward Onoja, the immediate past Deputy Governor of Kogi State, has said that former Governor Yahaya Bello assured him that he would succeed him, only to withdraw the support on the eve of the All Progressives Congress governorship primaries.

Mr. Onoja, who now serves as a board member of the South-East Development Commission, made the known during an interview on the MIC ON Podcast on Saturday.

According to him, “For four years before 2023, he (Yahaya Bello) was the one who called me and said, ‘You will succeed me, get prepared.’ And of course, I planned, I worked, and when it was time, he gave all of us the opportunity to contest.”

He noted that, “At the end of the day, his heart and his choice were with the current governor, His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo.”

Credit: PUNCH Newspaper

He added that, “When he broke the news to me a day before the primaries, I told him, ‘You are the boss, you are over me, what you see is what I see, so let’s go get the job done, but I hope you are not making a mistake.’ There were no issues, and then we went to the field and did our best for our candidate.”