Nigeria: I Will Run Again For President, Says Kogi Governor Yahaya Bello

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has hinted of his desire to have anothe shot at the Presidency in the not too distant future.

Bello was one of the 22 presidential aspirants of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that lost to former Lagos state governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the party’s presidential primaries convention held in Abuja last week.

Soeaking with newsmen Wednesday after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja, the Kogi governor said the APC presidential race afforded him the opportunity to “test the mike,” saying his next attempt will be “supersonic.”

According to him:”My own first level is governorship, and God made it. And again, attempted presidency now. let us not give up hope. We must continue to try. I have learned a great lesson from this first trial. And I’m never beaten twice.

Bello appealed to his supporters not to be disillusioned, adding that in life “sometimes you win some and sometimes you lose some.”

The Governor further urged his teeming followers to continue to accord the APC support across board in the coming elections in the country.

His words: “I completed a cycle, I started the journey. and I ended it well. I am a party man; I am Yahaya Bello, the executive governor of Kogi state, who just participated in the last APC special national convention that came up with a flagbearer, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. A lot of you might be disenchanted disillusioned or not happy please, be calm.

“The journey is not over. It is just a stop gap. Please let us support our party. The All Progressives, Congress. In every contest, there are bound to be your winner. And there are bound to be those who did not win. In all, we are all winners, APC must win for our dream for our hope to be alive. I thank you all God bless Nigeria, God bless our party and God bless all of us.”

On the possibility of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, running with a Muslim running mate as being speculated in some quarters, the governor stressed that religion or region should not be a factor for consideration in political offices in the country.

He emphasised that the major consideration for selection should be the ability to deliver and not the prevailing debate of Muslim/Muslim or Christian/Christian ticket.

“The flagbearer, Senator to Bola Ahmed Tinubu is an astute politician. He understands the game well and he knows how to win a contest, especially at this level. I’m confident that himself, Mr. President, our party leaders and elders of our party will come up with a selection that is going to sell the party and the candidature of our party and ensure that victory, whether Muslim Muslim ticket ot Christian; whether from Northeast or wherever.

“I am confident that the party can come up with someone who will assist in the already victory that we are envisaging ahead of us. So whether it Muslim or Christian, we’re all Nigerians, it is long I have been advocating that we should de-emphasize our fault lines; that which divides us; let us rather dwell on what unites us more. So that is my position.

“Merits and balance, equity, fairness and justice. When you put all of them together as a political party, what comes to mind first is how do we win this election? If we don’t win this election where how do you now come about your fairness, equity and justice for Nigeria.

“So, merit is very key; I’ve always been an advocate for merit because certain challenges that are confronting us today in this country, we need those who will come and solve this problem. If this place is not secured, we won’t be here today are those that are here today, securing the Villa, securing this press room are not selected based on religion. They’re not selected based on region, they are selected based on competence, capacity to be able to protect this villa. So we need those who will be able to solve all of these challenges that are confronting us today in Nigeria”, Bello further stated.

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

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