With so many activities kicking off ahead of the 2023 presidential election with more voices striving to convince Nigerians on who to be voted as the next president, the aspiration of Yahaya Bello, the executive governor of Kogi State, to become the next president, has once again been echoed by a group, urging Nigerians to look into lines of strides qualifying the governor for the top political job in the country.
The group, Bello Ambassadors Network (BAN), which is one of the fastest-growing political groups in Nigeria, revealed reasons why Yahaya Bello fits most for the presidency among other aspirants and why more Nigerians keep throwing wight behind him.
BAN in a media briefing in Abuja on Monday said the arrays of areas Nigerians need to look into when it comes to Bello include, Women and Youth Inclusiveness in politics, Security, Age, Party Structure, Religious Tolerance as well as his developmental strides in Kogi state.
Speaking on women in politics, according to the body, no political leader has realized the strength of Nigerian women like Yahaya Bello. It said the governor has made sure the women were not just involved in governance but given key positions. It said Bello’s model of government perceives the significance of women, consequently incorporating them into legislative issues.
It added that it is a record-breaking resolve for Bello as the first Governor to have a female ADC. He is likewise the only Governor from the 19 Northern States to have a female as Secretary to the State Government (SSG).
Governor Bello’s peculiarity governance likewise created a platform for women in all the 21 Local Government Areas of Kogi State to emerge as Vice Chairmen and have women as Leaders of authoritative arms in the Local Government Areas.
For inclusiveness of young people in politics, the Bello Ambassadors said since the Nigerian youth have understood that the usual assurance of making them the leaders of tomorrow were a simple political tool to continue to take advantage of the strength in their population to keep the old folks in government, a governor is prepping the youth to genuinely assume control over the nation and be the drivers of their tomorrow.
It noted that looking across the 36 States in Nigeria, one could scarcely see where really young people are involved in government, brought to the corridors of power and prepped to be the leaders of the said tomorrow, save in Kogi State where the governor’s cabinet members are amazingly made of around 80% of young people.
The body said, while numerous governors and public office holders in Nigeria today, as it has been, continue reusing old-timers and encircle themselves with the similar class to keep administering the people and continue to guarantee the youth of tomorrow, governor Yahaya Bello changed the story by picking an administration where young people are at the front line, explaining that today in Nigeria, the Chief of Staff to Governor Yahaya Bello, Pharm. Abdulkareem Jamiu Asuku appears to be the youngest.
“The Special Adviser to the governor on Youths is another young man whose age class is hardly found across state cabinets.
“How about an understudy in his mid-twenties named Anthony Edogbo who is the Technical Assistant to the Governor on Private Sector and Digital Economy?. The same young man was additionally designated as a member of the State Investment Promotion Board. He remains the youngest serving cabinet member across state executives in Nigeria.
“From the Special Adviser to the governor on Public Relations, who is a young Kanuri man, to several others, it’s unheard that people above 50s are really around the governor in piloting the affairs of the state.
“However, both the young and old are enjoying the outcome of the youth-led government. This should be the story of Nigeria.
“Governor Bello’s advanced pattern of administration is expected to place into elimination, the government of old folks and the reusing elders. It’s additionally the main avenue for the youth to turn into the leaders of this country.
“Like Anthony, a part of the 80% youth of the governor’s cabinet members is young people in their twenties and mid-thirties. While some are students, others are young energetic people with extraordinary abilities and mental fortitude to serve the governor and the people.
“For Bello’s administration model, each young Nigeria is guaranteed a place in the federal government. This is an opportunity for young people. They either win with Bello or continue to be tickled with the cradlesong of being the leaders of tomorrow that will never come,” it wrote.
Hinting on ethnicity challenge, BAN said the governor has been able to quench all forms of marginalization in Kogi State and also showcase the same at the national level by bringing many tribes across the country into his cabinet. It also cited the remarkable achievement of the governor in making national peace when the food blockade tussle was brokered by him.
For religious intolerance affecting Nigeria, the governor is projected as a cure and his potency is confirmed through the establishment of a government house chapel for the Christian faithful in Kogi state even as a Muslim and the first of its kind since the creation of the state three decades ago. The governor has also pally with many Christian religious leaders as he has played host to most of the major Church leaders in the country and has been in turn commended by many.
The group said governor Bello is the icon of security in Nigeria. It disclosed that Kogi state has been turned into a haven where the people now swim in a pool of peace as the governor has put the challenge of insecurity bedeviling the confluence state to rest by restoring the safety of lives and properties.
It further hinted at the youthfulness of the governor that defines its vigor and carrying along of young people in governance as well as women. To this end, it’s believed that the governor is capable of curing the nation of the ills of gender imbalance and the sideling of the youth.
Affirming Bello’s suitability in the area of age as well as women inclusiveness is the position of Britain towards Nigeria for 2023 when it’s a consulate in Nigeria recently said it urged all political parties to front youthful candidates for the next election and consider women for key roles. It’s also a widely spread fact that Kogi is the only state from the north-central with a female SSG and 21 women vice chairmen across the local governments.
The body however said those who might not enjoy the stay of the Bello as the president are the old politicians who have been enriching themselves, criminals, religious fanatics, ethnic extremists, selfish individuals, and crooners of majority ruling and minor ethnic sideling.
BAN also made case for party structure and zoning of the presidency. It said democracy is about equity, fitness, and justice, noting that checking through the spread of the office of the President and Vice President since 1999, it is clear that there is a great imbalance between North and South and that it’s only fair that the North retains power in 2023 with North Central presidency.