Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi State, has called on politicians to play by the rules as the nation approaches the 2023 general election.
Governor Bello stated this in Lokoja on at a Symposium organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), on the theme, ‘A peep into Gov. Yahaya Bello’s seven years in office and implications for future administration.’
He equally appealed to Nigerians not to fall into the plans of few individual politicians, who are bent on creating violence that would stall the election. According to the governor, Nigerians should go into election and remain resolute.
He said as governor, he assumed office, saw the numerous challenges bedeviling the state and applied home-grown formula in solving the challenges.
“Mathematics solves problem. Just derive a formula, you can solve the problem on ground. When we came, we saw a lot of problems, we derived a formula for solving them”.
Bello, who expressed optimism that the 2023 election would hold in peace, urged Nigerians to remain calm, pointing out that the current situation facing the country is temporal.
“We are in a political season. I charge you all to play by the rules. Election will hold just like Mr. President has said. We should not by our own actions truncate it”.
Bello promised to sustain relationship with the council, urged media professionals to remain unbiased in their reportage and in reporting the election.
He also pointed out that the unprecedented achievements witnessed in Kogi State under his administration are products of derived formula he employed towards solving the state’s challenges.
Earlier in his welcome address, Adeiza Momoh Jimoh, chairman, NUJ, Kogi State chapter, called on President Buhari to look into the activities of the Economic and Finance Crimes Commission (EFCC), and also call them to order to stay within the precinct of the law in the discharge of their duties.
The NUJ chairman stated that the EFCC fixation on Kogi State government and some individuals in the state is making mockery of the agency’s mandate of fighting corruption in Nigeria.
“People are beginning to believe that the motive of the agency’s operation in Kogi is that of witch-hunt and political vendetta”.
“This distraction is not only unnecessary, but also aimed at putting the development in the state to anticlockwise movement,” he said.
Also speaking, Chris Isiguzo, national president, Nigerian Union of Journalists, endorsed the position of Kogi State chairman of the union, as he affirmed his support.
