Bello meets Buhari, says North Central most marginalized

Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi met President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Bello, after the closed-door meeting, told State House correspondents that the north-central had never produced the president or vice president of the country, and it was only proper that the region should produce the next President of the country in 2023.

He said: “Well if you’re talking of southeast then you will equally talk of north-central not only since 1999 but since 1960. So what do you say of the north-central which has never produced the president or vice president?

“So put the situation of the southeast and that of north-central side by side, then who is more disadvantaged in terms of the position of presidency or vice presidents?

“So if you put both sides together, then let’s do justice. And whichever way you look at it, I’m eminently qualified.”

On who he thinks should take over from President Buhari in 2023 and if he informed the president of his political ambition, the governor said: “Mr. President would want a vibrant, experienced, energetic, patriotic Nigerian to take over from him and in all of the qualities that Nigerians are yearning or looking for today, I possess all of these qualities by the special grace of God.

“Nigerians are yearning and asking me to run for the President come 2023 and by the special grace of God I will not turn down that offer.”

The governor added that he came to brief the President on the improved security situation in his state.

Bello noted that Kogi had been enjoying relative peace and stability in recent times due to new security measures introduced in the state.

According to the governor, Nigerians have a role to play in securing the nation.

He called on all citizens to complement the government’s effort by serving as agents of security in their homes and areas of abode.

He said: “As usual, I came to visit Mr. President to give him an update of the situation in my area of responsibility, which is Kogi State.

“Like you all know, Kogi as at the time I assumed office used to be the most dangerous, let me put it that way, crime state before. But as of today with the special grace of God, Kogi is now the safest state as far as Nigeria is concerned.

“And the President is very pleased about our performance in the state in the area of security, economy, infrastructural development, integration, peace, and unity that are being enjoyed in Kogi state today.

“So basically, these are the briefs that I came with to see the President and he sends his goodwill message to the people of Kogi.’’

According to him, the current administration has done greatly in tackling insecurity.

He, however, noted that the successes of the administration in addressing insecurity are under-reported, and it may be politically motivated.

“One of the loopholes I can see in tackling insecurity is in Nigerians ourselves. Today in Kogi State, all citizens are potential security personnel.

“If all Nigerians take it as their own business, insecurity would be tamed to the barest minimum.

“So, we should be ready to take on security issues head-on, we shouldn’t just be relying on the law enforcement agencies. The way we continue to hype issues of insecurity, especially our headlines in the media will not help us.

“For instance, take the statistics of the insecurity issues they had in America from 2020 to date and compare with that of Nigeria, you will discover that we have just overhyped ours. I think we should downplay some of our headlines.”