Senator Smart Adeyemi is a three time senator representing Kogi west senatorial district, Adeyemi who is seen as an ardent supporter of Governor Yahaya Bello presidential ambition, in this interview he granted to Journalists at his Iyara country home, spoke on many issues, among them his relationship with Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello, why he wants Gov Bello to succeed Buhari and debate over power rotation between Kogi west come 2023 among others.Excerpts
On power shift
You know, I don’t want to talk about powershift, the last time I spoke about power rotation was in 2010, and if you checked all the records of presentations by me,you’ll not find where I spoke about power rotation after 2010.
What happened was that in 2010, when I went round Kogi East senatorial district, I went there for the first time on what I called “a fact finding tour” I disguised myself and went round the area. When I came back,I say to myself that I would never talk about power shift again.
Why? because I discovered that the Eastern Senatorial district as at that time was very backward. I saw people fetching water from the stream ,I saw a good numbers of communities without electricity, despite the fact that they had Governors from the area since the creation of Kogi state,and I said, it’s not even about where a Governor comes from that matters, because you can have somebody from your community as a Governor he’ll may not develop your community.
Since then I vowed not to talk about power shift or power rotation, because I saw at that time that those who were there then were not border to develop their immediate communities.
Today, Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello, is carrying electrification of communities in the Eastern Senatorial district,it’s something that ordinarily you don’t expect the governor to embark now.
So power shift,yes!I agreed,but I equally believes that we should not talk about it under governor Yahaya Bello,you know why? because Yahaya Bello is somebody that we must trust.
This afternoon ( Saturday 16th October,2021) at the Lokoja confluence stadium,venue of APC state Congress,he said and I quote him” I will ensure justice, fairness and equity and I will ensure that nobody is marginalise ” that was what he said and the promised he made to Kogi people not only APC members at the venue.
So, if we are talking about power shift now to the West ,am not saying is not desirable, it’s even over desirable,it’s because I don’t talk on something that’s expedite.
Anybody that’s talking or agitating for power rotation now ,whether you are a member of National Assembly or political appointee in Governor Yahaya Bello kitchen cabinets,it means you don’t believe the vision of your principal to become the president of the federal republic of Nigeria. I have campaigned for more than 60% of National Assembly members on the need to support governor Bello’s ambition to led this country.
So anybody in Kogi state who is talking of taking over from Governor Bello,either directly or indirectly or you are celebrating or people are campaigning for you through backdoor,that kind of person is somebody the Governor should be careful with, because the presidential election would come first before Governorship election in kogi state, so if anybody is talking about been a successor to the governor even before the presidential election,the governor should be careful with that kind of person: anybody and I repeat anybody !!!.
Anybody serving in the present administration who is talking or parading himself as a successor,or that the governor have endorsed him, it means you don’t believes that your principal to become the president of Nigeria, because you can’t be chasing two rats at the same time,you can’t be agitating for yourself to be the governor by sponsoring groups underground and at the same time pretending to be in support of your principal’s ambition,I don’t know whether you know somebody like that?
Gentlemen of the press,am only telling you that it doesn’t make sense to me, it’s foolishness,because your vision must not be deferent from that of your principal.
If we are working hard and intensify prayers that Governor Bello became the president of Nigeria and there’s somebody in his cabinets that’s thinking of becoming a governor ,he can kill the Governor if he had the chance, so the best thing is Governor Bello should quickly push him out,anybody and I say anybody!!!
Gentlemen of the press,like I mentioned earlier,I don’t want to speak on power rotation but because you’ve come to my community,and you are pushing the questions for justice,fairness and equity, that’s why I have no options than to succumbed: we need not to talk it now ,if the time come we’ll not only discussed it but cross the bridge.
On successor .
Since he assumed office , Governor Bello has been just and fair to everybody, am not in doubt that when the time comes he’ll look at somebody who has the cloud,who would improve on his legacies,who has the capacity and equally defend the state,who has the national outlook, because in future there may be alot challenges,so he must look for somebody who is well rooted. He must have somebody who believes in the governor’s vision,who wouldn’t work Against him and his legacies after he left office.
On reforms
All the reforms of Governor yahaya Bello,he cannot bring inexperienced person that will scattered his manumental achievements after his exist. As a tripod,West ,Central and East, I think it’s not out of the way if the west are asking for power rotation,but to me is not expedite now.
On why he is supporting Gov. Bello presidential ambition.
Let us join hands and fight how governor Bello would emerge as president,as president we would get more than the issue of Governor.
I have told all my supporters not to talk about Governorship now,let us face the challenges of how Gov. Bello would succeed president Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. My support for Governor Bello presidential ambition is unalloyed.
On the issues of who would succeed governor Yahaya Bello,when we get to the bridge,God and kogites would decide for us.
I want to appeal to all my supporters,I begged you all, nobody should associate me with Governorship ambition for now.
The Governor is awere that I have campaigned for him down to his colleagues on the need to support his ambition,because he is a vibrant man,for Bello to become a president is not because he’s a youngman,many youngmen failed to delivered, it’s because of his visions and forsight that’s why we want him there.
On why he wants Gov. Bello to be the president of Nigeria.
I want Governor Bello to be the president of Nigeria because of three reasons;
Because he’s energetic, he’s very intelligent,he is a man endowed with wisdoms and understanding and he doesn’t have sentiment in his heart.
All of the Muslims who were Governors before him,none of them considered building a church in government house,for fairness and equity he built it.
The Governor has a large heart to accommodate everybody irrespective of where you comes from or your religious affiliations,these are reasons and many more qualities on why I want him to succeed president Muhammadu Buhari .
By my training as a journalist,I am a radical person,but where I have nothing to fight,why would I fight?
Now the governor is embarking on projects across the state,many of which never happened since the creation of Kogi state, in kogi state,no one is talking about tribal or religious beliefs,or whether you are a Igala, yoruba, Nupe or bassa ,he has succeeded in uniting the people of the state and nobody is marginalised , that’s why I believe we should have him as president.
Take the issue of security as an example,he confronted it headlong,look at the manumental projects he’s embarking in all sectors of the economy,the ganaja flyover, model schools,hospitals and roads to mention few. Kogi state is a mini- Nigeria,if somebody can rule the state peacefully like Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello is doing,then I can tell you he will make a good president.
Finally,I want to use this medium to appeal to all Nigerians to support Governor yahaya Bello in his bids to become the president of Nigeria in 2023.
