Presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Yahaya Bello, has said he would be willing to step down on the orders of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Bello, who stated this after meeting behind closed doors with Buhari in Abuja on Tuesday, said it was not a decision of the party to exclude any aspirant from the APC primary.
He said, “It is a decision of a few elites, who may decide to use their whatever position to suppress the so-called minority, but I want to prove that in this country, I am not in the minority. We have the majority.”
Noting that he belongs to the majority and the younger generation of Nigerians, Bello, “I belong to the generation of Nigerians that are oppressed and they are saying they must have their voice.”
Bello expressed optimism saying he would win overwhelmingly at the APC primary arena (tonight) if the process and normal regulations are followed. “I will emerge victorious,” he said.
He said, “I respect President Muhammadu Buhari, the leader of our party and I respect the party. If the president asked me to step down, I would. Mr. President did not ask anyone to step down.
“Mr. President said let the delegates decide who becomes the flag bearer of the party and he did not say anyone should be excluded,” the governor added.
The governor of Kogi State had earlier warned that excluding his name on the ballot in the APC primary could be a recipe for trouble for the party.
Governor Bello is one of the 23 aspirants cleared to contest for the party’s presidential ticket in the 2023 election.
