Members of Kogi State House of Assembly have given governor Yahaya Bello the nod to contest the 2023 Presidential election.
The development comes just days after the state’s commissioner of information Kingsley Fanwo said many people have asked the second term governor to contest the 2023 presidential race.
The assembly members, in a motion moved by the majority leader of the House, Hon. Hassan Abdullahi, predicated their call upon the sterling performance of the governor since he assumed office in 2016.
They unanimously adopted a resolution on the floor of the House in Lokoja, Wednesday, the governor has proven capability and capacity to lead the nation.
The resolution reads: “We, the Right Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members of the Kogi state House of Assembly upon due deliberation of proper motion therefore, do hereby unanimously make and pass a Vote of Confidence on His Excellency, hovernor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state.
“That this Vote of Confidence is founded upon irrefutable and irreducible incidents of Governor Yahaya Bello’s leadership as the 4th Executive Governor of Kogi State, for a reference period spanning 27th January, 2016 till date, during which he has demonstrated uncommon Courage, Capacity and Competence at his duty post, even in the face of the most daunting odds.”
The lawmakers went on to commend the governor for the manner which he had handled the state’s security architecture.
“Yahaya Bello, has been exceptional in Security, protection of lives and properties across our joint and several constituencies – a key performance indicator, if not the most crucial, for leadership at all levels in Nigeria today. “Under his watch, Kogi state has been transformed from the kidnap capital of Nigeria outside the embattled North East, into a polity where abduction of humans for ransom, along with other violent crimes like armed robbery and the formerly ubiquitous herdsmen scourge, have become mere opportunistic aberrations.
“That this, at various times, culminated in Kogi State ranking as the second most peaceful state in the federation and the most peaceful in the North. ” In the same vein, Kogi has been rated the State with the second lowest crime rate in the country under Yahaya Bello’s watchful leadership,” they said.
They also hailed the governor’s sound economic policies and programs, which have culminated in improving the standards of living of the people. They also commended him for the life-touching projects he has executed across the state.
It further reads: “Yahaya Bello, by his creative governance style has somehow engineered a reversal of several negative national development indicators in Kogi state. Examples abound everywhere.
“Kogi state was recognised by the United Nations as far back as 2017 as one of only 4 Nigerian states at the time making remarkable progress in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) whereupon the state was invited to participate in the 72nd UN General Assembly – as personally witnessed by the Rt Honourable Speaker who was the leader of the Delegation.
“Kogi state was recognised by the Federal Ministry of Health, the National Population Commission and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as leading in the reduction of under 5 mortality rate in Nigeria even as the country has sadly overtaken India now as the world capital of this malaise.
“Kogi state is recognised by the National Bureau of Statistics (2018), in one of her 2018 Labour Force Statistics as one of only 9 states in Nigeria to reduce unemployment as the rest of the nation sank deeper into it.
“Kogi state has remained a consistent leader over the years in national rankings for Probity in handling public finances, including the 100% scored last month in the 2019 States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS), which entitled Kogi State to over $20m in World Bank grants, among others.”
The Kogi state House of Assembly also hailed the governor for unifying the state and also putting the state on the map of national reckoning.
“Yahaya Bello, is the most unifying leader Kogi state has ever. He views the vast diversity of Kogi state as a strength, using it to unify the people instead of a weapon to weaken and divide. Every part of the state has a strong and proportionate representation and say in governance.
“Appointments into government at both state and federal levels as well as appointments into offices in the civil service of the state reflect conscious efforts to include all parts, tribes, religions and even classes in the state in a manner that does justice to merit and equity. The allocation of projects and patronage by government in general are shared among the three Senatorial Districts in an equitable manner that was inconceivable before his administration.
“In particular, the top three executive positions in government – the governor, deputy governor and Secretary to the State Government reflect the three senatorial districts and major language groupings of the state.
“It was also made a deliberate policy of his government to ensure that every local government area produced a Permanent Secretary at the top of the civil service as it is today,” they said.
They applauded the governor for making deliberate policy to enhance youth and women inclusiveness, a situation that has situated Kogi in the hearts of Nigerians.
The position of the governor on Covid-19, which has received confirmation from global medical authorities, was also hailed by the assembly men.
The assembly members were impressed with the developmental strides of the governor, which covers basically all the sectors of the economy.
