Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State says his ambition for now is to help President Bola Tinubu to succeed.

Mr Bello was one of the major presidential aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023.

The governor pointed out that all Nigerians would succeed if Mr Tinubu succeeded.

The governor, who spoke at an interactive session with journalists on Saturday in Abuja, said God had been kind to him.

“I thank God for my successes and achievements as governor of Kogi. I know where I met the state and am happy with where I have taken the state to.

“I believe that the APC candidate, Usman Ododo, will build on the solid foundation we have laid down for Kogi,” the governor said.

According to him, the November 11 Kogi governorship election will be a landslide victory for APC.

Reacting to a question of ensuring all members remained in the APC fold in the state, Mr Bello said APC remained solid in Kogi.

“Our unity is why APC wins in Kogi and will continue to win,” said Mr Bello. “Our party is one. You cannot satisfy everyone. However, there are internal mechanisms in the APC to resolve issues, and we always utilise that.”

In a paper titled; “Unity in a Multi–Ethnic, Multi-Religious Society, the Kogi Story”, the state’s Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, said candidates should campaign on merit.

“Any candidate who campaigns on the basis of ethnic sentiments is incompetent,” Mr Fanwo said.

Mr Fanwo said the state would continue to prioritise merit and not ethnicity to enable it to continue to grow.

Also, in his paper on “Off Season Elections, Journalists as Responsible Watchdogs, the president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chris Isiguzo, tasked journalists on responsible and ethical journalism.

The commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Asiru Idris, said Mr Bello’s administration put in place deliberate policies to entrench good governance.

He said this encouraged accountability and transparency and reduced the state’s debt burden.

(NAN)