Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has advised the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, to allow his children to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
Tinubu, who is yet to declare for the 2023 presidency, has been alleged to be plotting with the ruling party to succeed Buhari in the forthcoming presidential election.
Speaking during an interview with DailyTrust, Bello urged the APC leader to drop his purported presidential ambition for younger politicians to take over in 2023.
The governor, however, noted that Tinubu who he described as his father, has a right to contest for the election because he is a man of integrity who has paid his dues.
“Senator Tinubu is one of our leaders and I respect him so much. He has played a very significant role in Nigeria’s democracy and has built a lot of people. He has paid his dues, and with all respect as a son to him, my simple advice is that it is time for him to allow his children to take over the mantle of leadership.
“And let us do it to the glory of God and his admiration. He should see that those children he raised are now doing well. Let him see how we would manage this country in his lifetime.
“He has a right to contest, nobody is questioning that. I always urge everybody to respect him for the roles he has played in this country’s democracy. He is a man of integrity, to be candid,” the governor said.
Governor Bello also dispelled the idea that Tinubu may pull out of the party if he does not get the 2023 presidential ticket of the APC.
“You don’t build a house and destroy it. I don’t think Tinubu would do that. I think he has grown past that. He is an elder statesman who will not say that the country should be destroyed in his lifetime, not even after his demise. So I don’t see him doing that. I don’t see that happening at all.
Governor Bello stated that Nigeria is not the personal property of any politician, adding that Nigerians must be guided by the provisions of the 1999 constitution.
“APC is guided by a constitution, which every member and even intending members ought to read and understand. Let me tell you that Nigeria is not a banana republic, which a committee of one or two persons will see as a personal estate or property. You can’t even do that in a council ward in this country, not to talk of Nigeria as a country.
“Governing this country is not a one or two-man show. We also have the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is guiding us. Every action and activity of powers is clearly spelt out in the constitution.
“I was not there when the purported or implied understanding took place. But today, we have over 40 million members of this great party and you are telling me that, assuming without conceding, that such understanding took place, we are bound by it? I think President Buhari and Senator Tinubu have the interest of this country and the APC at heart. They want a popular, credible and qualified Nigerian to lead this country.”
The governor urged the ruling party to simply look at who can do the job and pull Nigeria out of the woods – someone who will unite and secure the country.
“A president who would give the Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa and minority ethnic nationalities a sense of belonging. We need a leader who will ensure fairness, equity and justice. That’s what I am advocating.
“Today, poverty is everywhere and insecurity is almost everywhere. There is seemingly a lack of unity across the country, so we need someone who will unite the country.
“I think that is what we should be dwelling on. We need someone who will come and put infrastructure everywhere so that everybody would mind their businesses and won’t care who the president is,” he added.
KanyiDaily recalls that Governor Yahaya Bello had claimed that every Nigerian is asking him to run for President in 2023 and he won’t disappoint them.
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