A Forum under the aegis of Amalgamated Niger Delta Groups for Yahaya Bello has endorsed the governor of Kogi state, Mr Yahaya Bello as its preferred next occupant of the Nigerian presidential seat come 2023.
The group in a statement signed by its convener, Daraego Idoniboye said Nigeria as a developing nation needs a leader with an active conscience, adding that though Yahaya Bello may not be the best out of the over 200 million Nigerians, but he is certainly better than the rest of those who have indicated interest in the number one job in Nigeria.
The statement reads in parts: “except for Yahaya Bello, the rest of those who seek to rule this nation have directly or indirectly contributed to the problems of this great Country. They have always been part of our problems without any idea to resolve them.
“Mr. Yahaya Bello, as far as we are concerned is fairly new on the political landscape. The rest have been in government from the inception of Democratic rule in Nigeria and some of them have even been in the corridors of powers even before the inception of Democracy in Nigeria
“They have nothing new to offer; for them it will always be business as usual, while Yahaya Bello being a new player and a youthful person has some fresh ideas and a functional conscience to alleviate the hardship which these old politicians have brought upon us as a people.
“It is instructive to add that, all those who seek to rule this Country, except for Yahaya Bello, have no idea of the rising cost of food items in the market.
“This is because for almost half of their lives they have been in government and have been fed by the government, and have also fuelled their vehicles with tax payers money and as a result have lost touch with reality, this is why no matter how the masses cry of hunger and starvation they simply feel like it’s a normal thing and there is no urgent need to make amends.
“Most importantly, Mr. Yahaya Bello has the advantage of being Youthful and therefore has more stake in posterity. As for the rest, they are either in their early 60’s or late 70’s and for them, except for personal gains and bragging rights, nothing else is at stake.”
The Niger Delta group added that the only thing detractors have used against Yahaya Bello was the issue of alleged non payment of salaries which, according to it, had since been resolved.
“It is important to state that this issue only came up and was also resolved within the first two years of his first term in office.
“Suffice to say that it was clearly a sabotage, especially seeing that Mr. Bello wasn’t interested in cultivating any political factions.
“But immediately he settled in office he resolved that issue and others, including security for which today Kogi State of all places has become the safest State in the Country,” the statement further stated.
The group challenged the critics of the Kogi state helmsman to mention just a state in Nigeria that has not owed workers salaries, including some of the oil rich states as Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers.
“We therefore call on Nigerians to do their utmost to salvage this Country by not only calling on Yahaya Bello to present him self and run for President, but to also prevail on the All Progressives Congress (APC) to make Mr. Bello their flag bearer in the overall interest of the teeming young population of Nigeria,” the statement added.
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