A 2023 Presidential aspirant on the platform of the All progressives Congress (APC) Governor Yahaya Bello, says it is high time Nigerians deemphasized issue of zoning and focused on electing competent leaders.
Governor Bello who said this during a media appearance on a popular program Sunday Politics on Channels Television in Abuja, advised the elite to “lift their knees off the necks of citizens and let Nigerians breath”
According to him, he is in the race to change the narratives of regional politics in Nigeria.
“It is high time we deemphasized this issue of zoning. In the Country today, all what Nigerians want, for instance, is who will secure them
“Out of the 26 million Nigerians who want to support me, they know I am from the North but by my performance and my desire to serve this Country, they are all out there to support me not minding where I come from
“So if Nigeria’s younger generations can try to deemphasise that dichotomy and we still have some leaders (I refer to them as regional leaders) who are still emphasizing this, then Nigerians and the delegates should shine their eyes
“If you go to America today, you do not care where Biden comes from. If you go to the United Kingdom, you do not know where the Prime Minister came from
“In the United Arab Emirates, most people do not know where the ruler comes from. So why are we always emphasizing this?
“It is high time our elite lift their knees off the citizens of this Country and let Nigerians breath. By the special grace of God, I will lift their knees off the necks of Nigerians to make them breath” Bello said.
Responding to the decision of the Northern Governors to support a Southern candidate as 2023 presidential flag bearer, Bello noted that not all Northern Governors were signatory to the document going round the Media, noting that such a move would only cause more division in the Country among ethno-religious lines.
“If you look at the last convention, when all of us came up with a consensus, you will see how each and every Governor endorsed that document
“If you put that side by side with this, that is flying around in the social media you will see a statement first then signatures. It was just concocted to heat up the polity
“I sound a note to all Nigerians, it is just a recipe to dividing the Country further along ethnic and regional lines and this has been the bane of development causing a lot of disharmony” He added.
