Kogi State Governor, Mr. Yahaya Bello, has said that he is not afraid to go into contest with the big names in the party, including the former Governor of Lagos, Senator Bola Tinubu; Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi; former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, among others.
Tinubu was the first to declare his presidential ambition on the platform of APC, followed by the Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr. Davi Umahi, Okorocha, Bello and Amaechi
Bello while speaking yesterday at the Second Annual GYB Seminar for Nigeria’s Political and Crime Correspondents in Abuja, noted that he is not afraid of the big names, stressing that to be a champion, one must be ready to defeat a champion.
He stated: “To ask me whether I am scared or not of the big names that are contesting, the answer is capital no! I believe in my capacity. I respect the founding fathers of this great party, starting from President Muhammadu Buhari, the leader of our party, down to Senator Bola Tinubu, one of the founding fathers of our party, to Ogbonnaya Onu and the rest of them.
“They are founding fathers of our party; they are the foundation-laying fathers and members of this great party. But you can never have a building without a foundation. At the same time, that building will never be completed without building on top of it. The foundation alone is not a complete building. A beautiful building starts from the foundation and the remaining building on top.”
The presidential hopeful noted that his mission was to build on the foundation laid by the founding fathers.
According to him, if they actually cherish what they have started profoundly, they will be looking out for that young man who has the capacity to build on what they have laid and I fit perfectly to that particular choice.
“Also, I know that there are other champions in the race, if you want to be a champion, get ready to beat a champion and I believe that I will beat other champions to be a champion,” Bello added.
The governor stressed that democracy is a game of numbers, saying he represents the majority as far as politics or democracy is concerned, because he represents majority of the Nigerian youth and women.
Bello said it was based on this that he was saddled with the responsibility of mobilising over 41 million members into the party.
He revealed that with a minimum of three support groups for his presidential ambition, he had recorded over 21 million Nigerians with their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) who are ready to vote him into the presidency come 2023.
Bello noted: “So, I don’t think he who possesses these credentials will ever be afraid of going into a contest. We are in this game to win; we are in this game to restore hope to Nigerians.”
The APC chieftain said aside from former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Buhari that have led the country as senior citizens, a lot of achievements that were recorded in this country were recorded by young men.
He noted that while he was not insinuating that elders have not recorded achievements, Nigeria could do more with a younger person.
The governor said he was sure that reasons would prevail so that the upcoming ones that are ready to build on the legacies of the founding fathers would be given an opportunity.
“Governance is not an easy task, aside experience you need energy, not energy to sleep, eat and drink; energy to move, to be able to be where things are happening to fix things
“A lot of achievements recorded in this country today were recorded in their young age, when they were young,” Bello explained.