Confusion erupted on Wednesday over reports that Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, was prevented from entering the Senate chamber during the confirmation of the new Chief of Army Staff, Major General Waheedi Shaibu.
Ododo, who had arrived at the National Assembly in solidarity with Shaibu, a Kogi indigene, was allegedly turned back by officials.
Sources, who spoke with Daily Post, claimed it was the second time the governor had been barred from such an event, following a similar incident during the screening of the Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, also from Kogi.
A source said, “Governor Usman Ododo was again bounced from the Senate. The governor came into the Senate in solidarity with the just-appointed Chief of Army Staff from Kogi State.
“This is the second time they are walking the governor out of the Senate. He is always coming to attend most of these events that are not political.
“He came for the confirmation hearing of the INEC Chairman, and the Senate turned him down because he was not supposed to be there. It’s becoming embarrassing, and that’s why they asked him to go back from the confirmation hearing.
“Today again, you know the Chief of Army Staff came from Kogi State, and he came again, and they had to ask him to go back because it’s promotion by rank and not a political appointment.
“They told him that the Chief of Defence Staff came from Ekiti, the Chief of Naval Staff came from Kano, and none of their governors came, only Kogi. I don’t know who is managing him.”
However, Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo, dismissed the reports as “baseless.”
He said the governor was never bounced but attended the National Assembly to lend support before leaving for another official engagement.
“Today, I was with him as he went to also give support to the new Chief of Army Staff who was to be screened by the Senate. He met with some senators from the state and other stakeholders. He later left to submit the report of the Ekiti APC governorship primary, where he served as chairman of the committee,” Fanwo explained.
He insisted that at no point was the governor embarrassed. “On what ground would anyone walk him out of the National Assembly? Did he violate any rule? We were there for over an hour and the new Chief of Army Staff arrived before we left,” the commissioner said.
Fanwo accused “disgruntled politicians” of spreading falsehoods. “The National Assembly is a responsible and respected institution which has communication lines. Have you found out from them whether anything of such happened?” he queried.