Former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, was not cleared to participate in the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary after allegedly failing to appear before the party’s screening panel.
According to Sahara Reporters, this was contained in a list of screened APC senatorial aspirants from Kogi State, said to have emanated from the state secretariat of the party.
Bello is facing two separate cases filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
One of the cases involves an alleged ₦80.2bn money laundering charge before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
He is also facing a separate 16-count charge involving alleged fraud and breach of trust amounting to ₦110.4bn.
Party sources alleged that Bello stayed away from the screening to avoid questions relating to the criminal allegations against him.
“Yahaya Bello was not cleared by the APC. He didn’t participate in the screening exercise. He was disqualified,” one source said.
Another source added, “APC Kogi senatorial screening report shows Yahaya Bello isn’t cleared. This is because he didn’t want to be judged by question 7 in the APC senatorial form which has to do with the disclosure of ongoing criminal investigations. He is not cleared because of that.”
The source further alleged that the EFCC had laid an ambush for Bello at the party secretariat in case he appeared for the screening.