On Friday, Yahaya Bello, former Kogi State governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant in the build-up to the 2023 general elections, said he will not contest in the 2027 presidential election.
Bello made this known through Michael Ohiare, his Media Director, via a signed statement.
“While we state categorically, that our principal, Bello, has no 2027 presidential ambition, we want to also stress his unflinching commitment to the re-election of President Tinubu come 2027,” the statement reads.
“The indices cannot lie. The President and his team have done exceedingly well for the country, despite global challenges. On merit, he deserves the support of well meaning Nigerians.”
READ ALSO: ‘Do I Look Like Yahaya Bello’ – Sowore Challenges Security Agents In Court (Video)
Ironically, the former Kogi governor had expressed his desire to vie for the post again in “a not too distant future” after losing in the APC primaries to Tinubu in June 2022.
“My own first level is governorship, and God made it. And again, attempted presidency now; let us not give up hope. We must continue to try. I have learned a great lesson from this first trial. And I’m never beaten twice,” Bello said after the loss, appealing to his supporters.
“I completed a cycle, I started the journey. and I ended it well. I am a party man; I am Yahaya Bello, the executive governor of Kogi State, who just participated in the last APC special national convention that came up with a flagbearer, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. A lot of you might be disenchanted disillusioned or not happy. Please, be calm.
READ ALSO:
JUST IN: Yahaya Bello ‘Remains Wanted’, Not With EFCC
“The journey is not over. It is just a stop gap. Please let us support our party. The All Progressives Congress. In every contest, there are bound to be your winner(sic). And there are bound to be those who did not win. In all, we are all winners, APC must win for our dream, for our hope to be alive. I thank you all. God bless Nigeria, God bless our party and God bless all of us.”
In April 2024, however, things took a different turn for the former governor as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared him wanted after he shunned a series of invitations and resisted arrest.
Bello and three others were facing a 19-count charge for money laundering to the tune of N110 billion at the time.
In September, another EFCC attempt to arrest Bello at his Abuja residence resulted in an exchange of gunfire between them and the ex-governor’s security detail.
READ ALSO: If Peter Obi Becomes Vice Presidential Candidate To Atiku, Obidients Might Leave Him — Analyst
Bello was eventually taken into custody in November 2024. He was subsequently granted a N500 million bail by an Abuja High Court in December.
While Bello’s ordeal with the EFCC lasted, the former governor’s loyalists believed the anti-graft commission had ulterior motives and was deployed to humiliate their principal.
Get real-time News Updates on Our WHATSAPP channel:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9qtzXHwXbIyBGtjk2o
