YAHAYA BELLO RESPONDS TO PARTY LEADERS AND GOVERNORS “I WILL NOT BACK DOWN”
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By Adeniyi Onaara
If the process is credible, I would win the APC presidential ticket by a landslide – Yahaya Bello
Yahaya Bello, the governor of Kogi State, has stated that if the process is credible, he will win the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary.
After meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential residence in Abuja on Tuesday, Mr Bello told journalists that he was optimistic in his chances in the primary election.
The governor of Kogi State was not present at the APC governors’ meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, when they restated their support for zoning the party’s presidential ticket to the south.
“The governor of Kogi State chose not to meet with Mr. President because he believes he does not agree with our position,” Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, said at a press conference on Monday.
With the exception of Mr Bello, who is running for president, 13 other governors from the northern area voted in favor of the motion.
Following his meeting with the president, the Kogi governor sent a strong warning to the party leadership, saying there would be trouble if his name was left off the ballot once delegates arrived to cast their votes.
“There is no reason for me to be kept off the ballot. If they do, they are setting themselves up for even more difficulties. However, I don’t think it’s the decision of the party.
It is a decision of a few elites who may decide to use their whatever position to suppress the so-called minority. But I want to prove that in this country, I am not in the minority. We have the majority. I belong to the younger generation.
“I belong to the generation of Nigerians that are oppressed and they are saying the most have their voice. And I strongly believe that getting into that arena today, I will win overwhelmingly if the process and the normal regulations are followed,” he said
The governor added that he would be willing to step down if Mr Buhari had asked him to but “Mr President did not ask anyone to step down.”
Mr Bello’s chance of clinching the party’s apex ticket has further shrunk as governors elected on the platform of the party as well as its National Working Committee (NWC) recommended only five aspirants for today’s presidential primary.
There was reports that the five aspirants are a former Lagos governor, Bola Tinubu; a former minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; the governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi; the governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
With his resolution to forge ahead against the above resolution, the Kogi governor may have a long day convincing a substantial number of the 2322 delegates expected to cast their ballot between Tuesday and Wednesday.
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