Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has punctured the purported pact between President Muhammadu Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu concerning the 2023 presidential election.
Both are leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress, with Tinubu being instrumental to Buhair’s emergence. Speaking on this in an interview Bello said such a pact could not be binding on him or anyone.
He said, “Senator Tinubu is one of our leaders and I respect him so much. He has played a very significant role in Nigeria’s democracy and has built a lot of people. He has paid his dues, and with all respect, as a son to him, my simple advice is that it is time for him to allow his children take over the mantle of leadership and do it to the glory of God and his admiration. He should see that those children he raised are now doing well. Let him see how we manage this country in his lifetime.
However, he has a right to run, nobody is questioning that. I always urge everybody to respect him for the roles he has played in this country’s democracy. He is a man of integrity, to be candid.
“The APC is guided by a constitution, which every member and even intending members ought to read and understand. Let me tell you that Nigeria is not a banana republic, which a committee of one or two persons will see as a personal estate or property. You can’t even do that in a council ward in this country, not to talk of Nigeria as a country.
“Governing this country is not a one or two-man show. We also have the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is guiding us. Every action and activity of powers is clearly spelt out in the constitution.
“I was not there when the purported or implied understanding took place. But today, we have over 40 million members of this great party and you are telling me that, assuming without conceding, that such understanding took place, we are bound by it? I think President Buhari and Senator Tinubu have the interest of this country and the APC at heart. They want a popular, credible and qualified Nigerian to lead this country.
President Buhari is leading an all-inclusive government and party, not for the two of them or few individuals. This idea of me and my friends or associates is archaic and aristocratic. It should not be discussed in a democracy because it is outdated and has no place again in our constitution; not anywhere in the world.”