Governor Yahaya Bello and Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the 2023 general election candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Kogi central senatorial district, alleged that Governor Yahaya Bello proposed an amount as high as N70 million for her to withdraw from the race.
Akpoti-Uduaghan made this assertion during her appearance on Arise TV on a Wednesday morning.
As per her account, Bello initially extended an offer of N50 million for her to withdraw in favor of his preferred candidate.
“In 2018, before I joined the SDP, I was in the APC for pretty much.
“The Governor called on me along with nine other aspirants at that point to step down.
“He offered some people money. He offered me money as well. He offered me N50 million at first, I turned it down. He then said ‘How about N70m?’ to stand down for his anointed candidate who was then a Senator.
“I told him I wasn’t in the race for money. It was not for personal aggrandizement, but to make an impact on my people. And that annoyed him.
“Yahaya Bello does not like to be dared. He wants his words to be law.”