2023: Yahaya Bello backtracks on declaration for presidency

Yahaya Bello

Gov Yahaya Bello

Richard Elesho/ Lokoja

Kogi Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has changed him mind over his earlier decision not to announce if he will contest for the Nigerian presidency in 2023 until the conclusion of the National Convention of his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The convention is scheduled to hold on 26 February.

But Bello, contrary to his earlier assertion, on Thursday declared that he will indeed compete for the the 2023 presidential ticket of APC, more than a month ahead of the convention.

He made the declaration virtually on Thursdays to an audience of women and lawmakers in Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital.

Bello confirmed his intention to members of Nigeria State Assembly Legislatures in North East zone which held an extra ordinary conference in Hazibal Hotel, Bauchi, barely a week after the North Central APC States Lawmakers had endorsed his quest to occupy the number one seat in the country.

The Governor said: “I am offering myself to aspire for the 2023 presidency under our party, APC because the country deserves better and purposeful leadership from the youth.

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“I really want to thank you for the wonderful things you are doing in your respective states and our fatherland and I sincerely want to appreciate you and thank you for the support to our great party, the support to President Muhammadu Buhari and your service to your people in your various constituencies.

“I want to thank you for taking the time to come for this extraordinary meeting held in the North-East, Bauchi in particular. Mine is just to express a token of appreciation and tell you that the task ahead is an enormous one, it is all about all of us, about our Nigeria, about our dear party, it is about our future.”

Bello added that “by the grace of God, with your support and prayers and public prayers, I know that we are going to get there, get to the promised land. I should have been there personally to appreciate you for the support and love. You know that anywhere I go, the crowd is always uncontrollable and I don’t want to be seen to be breaking the law of our party by opening campaigns, I want to be strictly abiding by the law.”

“However, I asked the Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly to link me up so that I can talk to you virtually during the meeting. As you know, my Speaker and others as well as well-meaning Nigerians have been going around the country to meet with critical stakeholders like you. I sincerely appreciate you joining the project, I will meet you, people, one on one very soon.

“I want to promise you that I will not disappoint any of you, looking at the relationship I have with my Speaker, I know that by the grace of God when we get to the promised land we are going to have a more wonderful working relationship on May 29, 2023, Insha Allah. As you can see we are moving on steadily, I need your support, I need your prayers because together we can make it happen. We will build on the good things done by the administration,” Bello said.

In his remarks, Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, assured that elected APC members from the zone will work for the emergence of the Kogi State Governor because according to him, “he has a lot of positive things to offer the country considering what he is doing in Kogi State presently.”

It would be recalled that Bello claimed that Nigerians from all corners of the country have been falling.on themselves urging him to run for President. He said they were begging him to come and rule the country.

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