AHEAD of the governorship elections in Kogi State, stakeholders from Lokoja, Koton-Karfe Local Government Areas of the state have declared that they were comfortable with the leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The stakeholders made this declaration when a delegation of Local Government Chairmen, Administrators and other political appointees of the governor led by Honourable Abdul Kareem Usman Isah, paid a solidarity visit to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu in her office in Abuja.
Honourable Isah, according to a statement by the Special Assistant on Media to the minister, Mr. Austine Elemue, a copy of which was made available to the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja, maintained that with the appointment of FCT Minister of State from Kogi by President Muhammadu Buhari, there was no better way to appreciate the government at the centre other than to vote massively for APC led government at the state level.
“We came to pledge our unalloyed support to you in carrying out the task of piloting the affairs of FCT with your elder brother, the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello. We are indeed grateful for your elevation to the position of Minister of State for FCT.
“We want to use this opportunity to assure you that we are comfortable with the leadership of APC in the state led by Governor Yahaya Bello, and we will vote massively for him come November 26, 2019.” He insisted.
In her response, the minister, Dr Aliyu, who thanked the delegation for the recognition, also acknowledged that Kogi people have demonstrated that they would never abandon their own.
According to her, “the time has come in our beautiful state for one of your own to be appointed as minister of state. There is no doubt, power belongs to God because not that some of us worked harder than others, but God chooses me to represent you.
“I thank God you take me as one of your projects. Kogi people have demonstrated that they loved their own. In the near future, Mr. President will not regret appointing your daughter as a minister and I will prove that he did not make a mistake by appointing me. The vote from Lokoja should be bloc vote for APC to appreciate the government at the centre. Let embrace a violent free election in Kogi State.” She appealed.
In a related development, a political group under the aegis of Alhaji Mohammed Atati Bozhy also paid her a solidarity visit.
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During the occasion, the minister thanked members of the group for the unity demonstrated over the years, even as she tasked them to extend hands of fellowship to other ethnic groups in the state.
“The unity of your people should be the desire of any leader. There is no permanent enemy, but common interest. We should unite to fight our common enemy. I know we never dreamt of coming together as a united family. It is a thing of joy that all of us are claiming what God has done for me.
“Please, key behind me to succeed in this task ahead. Your level of accommodation of other tribes and political parties is what we make them trust us again. Our dialect alone cannot give us a ministerial slot, therefore carry others along,” she stated.
Earlier, the leader of the group, Alhaji Bozhy thanked the minister for her open-door policies, just as he prayed for her success while in office.
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