Kogi State governor, Usman Ododo, was reportedly bounced from the Senate chamber during the confirmation of the new Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Waheedi Shaibu, at the National Assembly in Abuja last week.
Ododo was said to have visited the National Assembly to show support for Shaibu, who hails from Kogi State.
However, Daily Post reports that security officials stopped him from entering the Senate chamber where the confirmation was taking place.
This is said to be the second time the governor has been denied access to the Senate during such proceedings.
Sources revealed that the decision was based on the rule that no other state governor attended the confirmation of the service chiefs from their respective states, making Ododo’s presence unnecessary.
It was also recalled that the governor was earlier prevented from entering the Senate during the confirmation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, another appointee from Kogi State.
According to reports, the governor has been attending some non-political events at the National Assembly to support appointees from his state, but officials reportedly told him such appearances were not part of the process and that he was not officially invited.
However, the Kogi State Government has denied the claim.
The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo, described the reports as false, saying no one walked the governor out of the National Assembly.
Fanwo explained that Ododo only visited to show support for the new Chief of Army Staff and later left to submit a report on the Ekiti APC governorship primary, which he chaired.
