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Ex‑Gov Yahaya Bello Wins APC Kogi Central Senatorial Primary With Over 72,000 Votes Despite Ongoing ₦80 Billion EFCC Trial — Natasha's Camp Mocks APC
Former Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello secured the APC senatorial ticket for Kogi Central despite facing active corruption trials.
Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has done what few politicians carrying the weight of an active EFCC prosecution could manage: he won a ruling‑party primary in a landslide. On Monday, May 19, Bello was declared the APC candidate for Kogi Central Senatorial District after polling an overwhelming 72,399 votes across the district's five local government areas. His closest rival, by comparison, managed just 319. The margin was not a victory; it was a statement.
But the statement cuts two ways. Bello is currently standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja, where the EFCC has charged him with laundering ₦80.2 billion in allegedly diverted state funds. A separate case involving an even larger sum — ₦110.4 billion — is also active. The former governor has consistently denied all the charges, and his legal team has framed the prosecutions as politically motivated. Yet the contrast is stark: a man battling to stay out of prison has just been handed a ticket to the Senate.
The APC in Kogi appears unmoved by the legal noise. Bello retains deep roots in the party's state structure, and his two terms as governor left him with a political machine that his opponents have struggled to dismantle. The primary result suggests that machine is still very much intact. He will now face incumbent Senator Natasha Akpoti‑Uduaghan of the PDP in the 2027 general election — a contest that is already generating heat.
Natasha's camp wasted no time mocking the APC for clearing a candidate facing active corruption trials. The line from her team is blunt: Kogi Central deserves a senator who spends his days in the chamber, not in the dock. Whether that argument resonates with voters in a state where loyalty to political godfathers runs deep remains to be seen. For now, Yahaya Bello has proven that in Nigerian politics, a court case is not always a disqualification — sometimes, it is barely a footnote.
Stay tuned to Unuevbo TV for more on the Kogi senatorial race, the EFCC trials, and the 2027 election battleground.
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