GOVERNOR Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has insinuated that he commands large crowds everywhere he goes, hence he can’t be at all his political meetings.
He made this known yesterday during a telephone conversation with North-East legislators, as part of consultations towards his presidential ambition.
Explaining his absence from the meeting, he said ”you know that everywhere I go, the crowd is always too much and I don’t want to be seen to be breaking the law”.
He added: “I would have been there personally to appreciate you, but you know that everywhere I go, the crowd is always too much and I don’t want to be seen to be breaking the law since open campaigns have not been allowed; I want to keep to the law. I’ll come around when the ban is lifted to speak to you one-on-one in your various enclaves. However, my Speaker and other well spirited Nigerians are moving around the country and are talking to people of importance, especially critical stakeholders like you.
“I want to promise you that I will not disappoint any of you, looking at the relationship I have with the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, I know that by the grace of God, we will have a more robust and wonderful relationship. We will get to the Presidential Villa on May 29th, 2023.
“I need your support, I need your prayers, I need your buy-in, I need you very much so that together, we can save this country and build on the successes of President Muhammadu Buhari. I once again promise that I will not betray your trust, I will not disappoint you because I am a man who keeps promises and trust.”
In his welcome speech, the convener of the meeting, the Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Matthew Kolawole, who said that if power is allowed to go to the south, the north would have been shortchanged, pointed out that the North Central is the only zone that has neither produced a President or Vice since 1960.
“Laying aside the unconstitutional aberration called military rule during which every part of this country has produced the Head of State, we are categorical that only the North Central, our region, has not produced an elected President or Vice President of Nigeria since Independence in 1960. Since Nigeria returned to democratic system of governance in 1999, twenty-three years ago, North Central has not been lucky to occupy the number one seat in the country’s leadership.
“There is no gainsaying that the North Central is blessed with credible and prominent personalities who have contributed and still contributing to the overall development of this country, hence North Central is appealing to other zones in the Northern region to give us the opportunity to produce the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Kolawole urged the Mai Mala Buni Caretaker Committee not to zone the Chairmanship position to the North Central because it is interested in producing the next President.
