Saturday, November 14, 2026

‘Useful idiot’ Yahaya Bello will defeat Atiku in 2023: Femi Fani-Kayode

Mr Fani-Kayode once referred to Yahaya Bello as a “boy,” a “useful idiot” and “an accursed slave with non-functional mental faculties.”

• January 7, 2022
Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello, Femi Fani-Kayode, and Atiku Abubakar
Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello, Femi Fani-Kayode, and Atiku Abubakar

Femi Fani-Kayode says former vice president Atiku Abubakar stands no chance in the 2023 presidential election against Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello. 

“He (Mr Bello) will defeat Atiku hands down,” Mr Fani-Kayode said. “Particularly Atiku Abubakar cannot stand against anybody in the APC, Yahaya Bello or Fashola.”

Mr Fani-Kayode, who before now had berated Mr Bello as a “boy,” a “useful idiot” and “an accursed slave with non-functional mental faculties”, made this statement in an interview with Channels TV on Friday night. 

Speaking further, Mr Fani-Kayode said “I believe Yahaya Bello will appeal to million of young people in this country that we are changing the dynamics of giving power to a younger person.” 

Since he defected to the APC last year, Mr Fani-Kayode has made efforts to project his new party in good light. 

In 2019, Mr Fani-Kayode described the APC as “a filthy, rat-infested sinking ship,” stressing that he would rather die than join the ruling party.

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