Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign Organisation has said that Senator Bola Tinubu’s emergence as the Presidential flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was filled with manipulations and gang-up against the person of Yahaya Bello.
They stated this in a statement on Wednesday titled, ‘Yahaya Bello remains the hero of the oppressed.’
The group’s Director, Media and Publicity, Yemi Kolapo said the process that produced Tinubu was highly “compromised” and “crooked”.
Bello, an aspirant for the seat got 47 votes in the party’s primary which held at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
He had earlier walked out of a meeting suggesting that the presidential candidate of teh APC be zoned to the South.
Bello had also in a video refused to shake hands with the National Chairman of the party, Adamu Abdullahi while exchanging pleasantries with stakeholders including president Muhammadu Buhari.
The statement partly read, “The All Progressives Congress’ presidential primary elections have come and gone. The process was largely peaceful but highly compromised.
“In this process, one leader stands out, according to the majority of Nigerians.
“That leader, I say with all sense of fairness, is Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State. He’s the hero of this process and has made his point loud and clear to the admiration of even his worst enemies.
“If there was a clear, desperate gang-up by northern governors and the leaders of a party against one person, and that person never for once disappointed his teeming supporters but rather fought to the very end, not minding the crooked process, then he should be celebrated by the constituency he represents – the youth.”
Meanwhile, Punch is reporting that Tinubu is expected to meet APC governors in order to pick his running mate ahead of the 2023 elections.