Graft Suspect, Audu Emerges APC’s Kogi Flagbearer

Former Governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu, on Sunday
received the nod of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to seek a
return to the office he had occupied twice.

He is currently being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) for alleged contract scams totaling N10 billion.

After a landslide victory at the election primaries of the party, Audu
pledged to repeat the feat at the coming election in the state. He
also pledged to run an all-inclusive government and invest in critical
infrastructure for the benefits of the state.
In the result of the primaries, declared by the chief returning
officer and Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, Audu polled 1,109
votes to defeat his closest rival, Alh. Yahaya Bello who scored 703.
Audu was governor of the state from 1991 to 1992 and from 1999 to
2003, on the platforms of the National Republican Convention (NRC) and
the All Nigerian Peoples Party, (ANPP) respectively.

He later made three unsuccessful attempts to stage a comeback to the
office, called the Lugard House.
Earlier in his address, el-Rufai commended both delegates and
aspirants for their peaceful conduct and urged them to sustain the
tempo.
He called on Audu to ensure that he harmonises his position with other
aspirants who contested with him to ensure victory for the party in
the November governorship election.
Congratulating Audu on behalf of other aspirants, Alhaji Yahaya Bello,
who came second, promised their loyalty to the party, assuring that
they would work as team to ensure victory for the party and the
candidate.

On March 7 this year, an Abuja High Court admitted the testimony of a
banker, Uchenna Agagara, in evidence against Audu, in the corruption
trial.

Agagara, who was a prosecution witness, told the trial judge, Justice
Adegbola Adeniyi, that "several millions of naira totaling about N926
million" was lodged into the Diamond Bank account of Bulkom Nigeria
limited, "between May 29, 2001 and July 23,2003" when Audu was
Governor of the state.

The EFCC also accuses Audu of stealing money from the First Bank
account of the Directorate of Rural Development of the state and was
lodging it into the Diamond bank Plc account of Bulkom Nigeria Ltd, a
company alleged to have handled most of building projects during his
tenure.

Audu is being prosecuted alongside a former Director General of the
Directorate of Rural Development in his administration, Alfa Ibn
Mustapha.

-DailyTimes