BY FRANCIS KADIRI
Ahead of the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, state legislators in all the North Central states have passed a vote of confidence in the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress.
The legislators also endorsed Governor Yahaya Bello for President in 2023, being the only person that has shown interest in the position from the zone.
They spoke with one voice at the end of a one-day extraordinary meeting
of the APC States Legislatures from the six States of the North Central Zone, held in Abuja on Thursday.
They encouraged Governor Bello to continue to pursue his ambition, saying he remained the only person that the zone could rally round “for it to be counted in the power equation of the country.”
The lawmakers stressed that the Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee needed the support and cooperation of all party faithful to reposition the party for better performance and victory in the 2023 polls.
According to the convener, the immediate past Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ahmed Marafa, the extraordinary meeting was convened to discuss the political future of the zone with respect to what he called the power equation in the country.
He urged members from the six states of the zone to see reason why all well meaning men and women must come together and agitate for a fair share for the zone.
Also speaking, the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Matthew Kolawole, who initiated the meeting over one year ago, commended the Lawmakers for their quick response to the meeting, noting that it would go a long way to show their genuine efforts to look after the welfare of their people.
He said since 1960, the zone had been marginalised and neglected in the democratically elected leadership map of the country despite the endowed human resources in the area.
He said it was time for all and sundry, irrespective of party affiliations, to rise up and join hands to agitate for a north central presidency come 2023.
In a communique passed at the end of their one-day roundtable, the legislators appealed to all party faithful at all levels to give their support and cooperation to Buni to complete the good works that had led many people into the party since he assumed office.
They also called on all the leaders in North-Central to continue to pursue the North-Central presidency without prejudice to their personal aspiration, pointing out that the number one position in the country would be more beneficial to the zone and the nation at large.
