TheCable

Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state, says the emergence of Abdullahi Adamu as the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will not stop his 2023 presidential ambition.

On Saturday, Adamu was elected as the national chairman of APC through the voice-vote system at the ruling party’s convention in Abuja. Adamu and Bello are from the north-central zone.

Speaking during a television programme, on Monday, Bello said party administration was different from governance, adding that the APC, as currently constituted, would not zone anyone out of the presidential race.

According to the governor, the type of leader the nation requires is a competent, young, committed and vibrant individual who will turn the tides of the nation irrespective of his or her region, build bridges across ethnic and religious lines, while ensuring the inclusion of youths, women and people with disability in governance.

“The new party leader and the national working committee have great experience to lead the party into a strong and cohesive entity. The option of consensus in selecting the majority of the party leaders was clearly in line with legal standing although positions where there was no agreed consensus, contestants went through the polls,” the Kogi governor said.

He assured that in the forthcoming primaries, the party would go through a democratic process that would be accepted generally by all stakeholders, adding that he was not afraid of any mode chosen by the party.

The governor said he would not require legislative backing to include women in his government if elected as president.

“This is why women across the nation have been calling on me to run for president, considering the robust track record of giving women high-level inclusion in my administration,” he said.

Bello also stated that APC will poll over 41 million votes in the 2023 general election if a candidate that is generally accepted by members emerge at the party’s primary.