My ambition now is to support Tinubu — Yahaya Bello

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State says his ambition for now is to help President Bola Tinubu to succeed.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that Bello was one of the major presidential aspirants of the All Progressives Congress in 2023.

The governor pointed out that all Nigerians would succeed if President Tinubu succeeded.

The governor who spoke at an interactive session with journalists at the 3rd Annual GYB Seminar for Nigeria’s Political & Crime Correspondents/Editors on Saturday in Abuja, said that God had been kind to him.

“I thank God for my successes and achievements as governor of Kogi. I know where I met the state and am happy with where I have taken the state.

“I believe that the APC candidate, Usman Ododo, will build on the solid foundation we have laid down for Kogi,” the governor said.

According to him, the November 11 Kogi governorship election will be a landslide victory for APC.

Reacting to a question of ensuring all members remained in the APC fold in the state, Bello said that APC remained solid in Kogi.

“Our unity is why APC wins in Kogi and will continue to win.

“Our party is one. You cannot satisfy everyone. However, there are internal mechanisms in the APC to resolve issues and we always utilise that,” he said.

In a paper titled; “Unity in a Multi–Ethnic, Multi-Religious Society, the Kogi Story” the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, said candidates should campaign on merit.

“Any candidate who campaigns on the basis of ethnic sentiments is incompetent.”

Fanwo said that the state would continue to prioritise merit and not ethnicity to enable it to continue to grow.

Also in his paper on “Off Season Elections, Journalists as Responsible Watchdogs, the President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr Chris Isiguzo, tasked journalists with responsible and ethical journalism.

Isiguzo said there was a need for journalists to ensure transparency, check all facts and verify all information in their reportage.

The NUJ president noted that off-season elections presented challenges and opportunities for journalists to fulfill their role as responsible watchdogs of society.

“I encourage all of us to approach the job with a sense of duty, knowing that the quality of our reporting can influence the future of our nation.”

In a paper presented by the commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Asiru Idris, said the Yahaya Bello administration put in place deliberate policies to entrench good governance.

He said this encouraged accountability, transparency and reduction in the debt burden of the state.

“Kogi has commenced preparation of the 32-year development plan, critical to the realisation of Bello’s vision of all-round development of the state.

“The development plan when completed will be a focal point for development partners’ interventions.”

In a paper “Building a Viable Economy Through Strategic Investment in Education, the Kogi Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Wemi Jones, said the state had not only given free education but had made it compulsory.

“The budgetary allocation to the education sector in Kogi rose from 13 per cent in 2017 to 15 per cent in 2019 and 30 per cent in 2022, higher than UNESCO’s recommended benchmark of 26 per cent.