APC Legislators in the North Central states have said that Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State is the preferred candidate to contest for the position of the president of Nigeria in 2023.
The zone according to them had hitherto been denied of the position since Nigeria became Independent in 1960.
The legislators also passed a vote of confidence on the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmakers made the unanimous decision at the end of a One-Day extraordinary meeting of the APC States Legislatures from the six states of the North Central Zone, held in Abuja on Thursday.
They urged Bello to continue to pursue his ambition, saying he remained the only person that the zone could rally around “for it to be counted in the power equation of the country.”
The lawmakers stressed that the Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee needed the support and cooperation of all parties members to reposition the party for better performance and victory in the 2023 polls.
According to the convener, the immediate past Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Ahmed Marafa, the extraordinary meeting was convened to discuss the political future of the zone with respect to what he called the power equation in the country.
Marafa urged members from the six states of the zone to see the reason why all well-meaning men and women must come together and agitate for a fair share for the zone.
Also speaking, the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Matthew Kolawole, who initiated the meeting over one year ago, commended the lawmakers for their quick response, noting that it would go a long way to showing their genuine efforts in looking after the welfare of their people.
He said since 1960, the zone had been marginalized and neglected in the democratically elected leadership map of the country despite the human resources endowmentin the area.
Kolawole said it was time for all and sundry, irrespective of party affiliation, to rise up and join hands to agitate for a north-central presidency come 2023.
In a communique passed at the end of their one-day roundtable, the legislators appealed to all party members at all levels to give their support and cooperation to Buni to complete the good works
They also called on all the leaders in North-Central to continue to pursue the North-Central presidency without prejudice to their personal aspiration, pointing out that the number one position in the country would be more beneficial to the zone and the nation at large.