Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State on Thursday knelt before the people of Kogi State, asking them to forgive Governor Yahaya Bello for any wrong he had done.

Deputy Governor of Edo State, Mr Philip Shaibu, also knelt down next to el-Rufai. However, Mr Bello did not join them in kneeling down.

Mr El-Rufai, while addressing a crowd at All Progressives Congress rally in Lokoja, noted that Bello was young when he became governor and had made many mistakes.

The Kaduna governor, however, said Bello had since retraced his steps.

He said, “Many people say Yahaya Bello is young; that he has fought many people. For every one that the governor has offended, I’m asking all of you to forgive him. He is young; he is supposed to make mistakes. When you are young, you make mistakes but you learn from them.

“On his behalf, I’m kneeling down, to beg all of you to forgive Yahaya Bello if he has offended you. He cares about the people of Kogi State. He cares about this state. He has brought progress to this state; he has brought young people and women into government.

“He has cleared salary arrears that he inherited from previous governments. You must all come out to support him. I beg you all. Let us make history. The Late Audu did everything to bring progress to this state. Let us not dishonour his memory by allowing PDP to return to Lugard House.”

He said Peoples Democratic Party did nothing in the state during its 13-year rule. He, therefore, declared the opposition party dead.

El-Rufai added, “In the last four years, the progress recorded by Bello in the last four years is more than what the PDP has tried to do in 13 years.”

Punch