The Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has reiterated his commitment to preserving the unity of the state, noting that he has made transparency his watchword in the distribution of the gains of democracy to the people.
He thanked God and President Bola Tinubu for the support that gave birth to the victory of the All Progressives Congress in the November 11 governorship election, stressing that the party and its candidate, Usman Ododo, “won the election clean and clear.”
Governor Bello spoke at a stakeholders meeting of the APC held at the Glasshouse of the Government House on Saturday.
He noted that it was pertinent to review and evaluate the election, which APC won overwhelmingly, for people to learn from the mistakes and avoid the pitfalls of the past in future exercises.
“The journey was full of ups and downs in the last seven years. But we thank God for the resounding victory. With all the obstacles before, during, and after the election, the APC came out stronger.
“The time for everybody to carry his cross has come. Everybody will bear his father’s name because there is still a future,” he said.
While maintaining that Kogi State must develop as one united state, he pointed out that, under no illusion, any tribe should think they could vote for themselves and become governor without the support of other tribes.
According to the governor, the November 11 governorship election has shown that unity is the watchword.
“In 2019, I won without an ethnic agenda. I cautioned against tribal sentiments and asked that we desist from them before the election. I was optimistic that the APC would win the November 11 governorship election. I wanted it to be a sweet victory, which is why I cautioned against sentiments,” he added.
Governor Bello, however, said people allowed emotions and personal and parochial interests to becloud their sense of reasoning, but noted that the level of good governance provided by the present administration in the areas of road construction, health care, and infrastructure development was enough for the APC to win overwhelmingly.
Governor Bello described the Igala nation as good people, saying, “The Igala nation is not tribalistic or racist. They are good people, but the majority are being misled by poor representation.”
Governor Bello assured the people of Kogi West that payback time would soon come and called on leaders to educate their people and be selfless.
The time for Kogi State to consolidate on unity and security, amongst other several achievements, is now, the governor said.
He thanked God for allowing him to serve and learn, adding that he was well-equipped to continue to serve the state even after leaving office.
In his remarks, the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Edward Onoja, congratulated the APC family and the Governor-Elect, saying that the victory wouldn’t have been achieved without the support and hard work of Governor Yahaya Bello.
“Those who could not work for victory should break away from sentiments and work for a united Kogi State in the future,” he said.
Senator Sunday Karimi, representing Kogi West in the National Assembly, thanked the people of Kogi West for standing strong, despite three Okun sons being in the contest.
The Kogi State APC Chairman, Abdullahi Bello, in his remarks, appreciated the APC faithful for fighting very hard to victory while assuring members that the party would do a review of the whole process to determine those who betrayed the APC.
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