TheCable

A group known as the North Central Coalition For Leadership has asked Yahaya Bello, Kogi governor, to declare his interest and run for the office of the president in 2023.

In November, Kingsley Fanwo, Kogi information commissioner, said the governor has been under pressure to run for the office of the president in 2023.

Thereafter in December, the Kogi house of assembly endorsed him for the country’s highest office.

In a statement on Saturday, Umar Ghadaffi, director-general of the group, said the country needs a leader who “will lead the birth of a new Nigeria”.

“Alhaji Yahaya Bello is the most favorable for the office of the president, coming from a geo political zone (North-Central) that has never produced a democratically elected president in democratic Nigeria,” he said.

“What Nigeria needs at this moment in time is security and Governor Yahaya Bello has demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that he has the capacity to deliver modern security and protect the lives and properties of Nigerians at any given time.

“Governor Yahaya Bello is a visionary youth with proven track records of performance, and one of such is refusing to lockdown Kogi state during the first covid-19 lockdown, which has in turn increased investment in Kogi state by N1 billion ahead of Lagos state.

“Kogi state tertiary institutions are in session, graduating students while their contemporaries are at home for over a year. It takes a man with courage and doggedness to achieve these feats in the face of crisis militating against economies and governments, Umar reiterated.

“Nigeria needs a visionary leader, who will dare to change the status quo. Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello has proven this, times without number. First was having the political will to sanitize a civil service that was polarized with ghost workers.

“Secondly, it is on record that Yahaya Bello boldly said that top politicians were the ones frustrating the security efforts of the president and lastly he has maintained his position on COVID-19 and criticized even the amount set aside for the purchase of vaccines which is running into over N560 billion which he opined can build over 40 world class, state-of-art health centers all around Nigeria that will cater for and proffer solutions health issues without recourse to travelling abroad.

“Along global trends of Youth taking over leadership, Yahaya Bello is the youngest governor in Nigeria today who without a godfather was able to build political relevance within his short stint in politics across ethnicity, religious and political divides.”

Ghadaffi said Bello is “the most suitable” to occupy Aso Rock in 2023, adding that the group is willing to purchase nomination forms for him.

The governor had asked those tipping him for presidency not to distract him from governing Kogi.