US Visa: You should not ban me — Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, writes US Government

The Kogi State Government has said it protested the visa ban imposed on its officials by the United States over alleged election compromise because the various courts in the land validated the election that brought in Governor Yahaya Bello.

According to PM News, The US had included Kogi government officials, including the governor Yahaha Bello among those to be affected by the visa ban.

However, in a letter addressed to the Ambassador of the United States of America signed by the Secretary to the Government of Kogi State, Mrs Folashade Arike Ayoade, the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello said the US should have created room no matter how slim for fair hearing.

In the letter titled, “Re: Visa Restrictions On Individuals And Inclusion Of The 2019 Kogi State Gubernatorial Elections In US State Department List Of Allegedly Compromised Elections – A Letter Of Protest,” Kogi State government also urged the US to accord greater empathy, more civility and much less disruption to nascent democracies.

Gov. Yahaya urged the US to note that for the purposes of this protest letter the Kogi government was only interested in the citations to the extent that they were referable to Kogi State and her citizens.

Bello said in the letter that for the most part, the government conceded that elections in Nigeria were complex affairs which would continue to require improvements for the foreseeable future and that the 2019 Kogi State Gubernatorial Election was also not without its challenges.

However, the governor said it was crystal clear from critical and composite analyses of the records (official, media, observers, etc) of the November 16, 2019 polls that regrettable incidents were limited to a few polling units, while the overwhelmingly larger portions of the ballot were free, fair and credible.