Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the Senator-Elect for Kogi Central, has made allegations against Yahaya Bello, the state governor, accusing him of attempting to bribe her with a significant sum to step down from the election race.
Akpoti-Uduaghan disclosed that Bello offered her a substantial sum of N50 million in a bid to persuade her to withdraw from the race, purportedly in favour of Bello’s chosen candidate, who was a Senator at the time.
Reportedly undeterred by her refusal of the initial offer, Bello purportedly increased the sum to N70 million in a subsequent attempt to sway her decision.
The Senator-Elect said she stood firm in her resolve, declining the offer on both occasions, refusing to yield to the pressure imposed by Bello’s alleged proposal.
She told Arise TV:
”He has a personality, which, I would say, with all due respect, is deluded and makes him want to lord over things and dictate the terms and almost like a mini-god, and that is not how life happens.
”In 2018, before I joined the SDP, I was in APC for pretty much three months; the governor called on me, just like he called on nine other aspirants at that point and telling each and everyone to step down.
”To some people, he offered me them money. He offered me money as well. He offered me N50 million at first, I turned it down, and he offered me N70 million to step down for his anointed candidate.
”I told him that I was not in the race for money. It wasn’t a personal aggrandisement. It was to create an impact and help my people, then I moved to SDP to contest the election.”
