The Kogi State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Usmam Ododo, on Sunday, unveiled a primary school teacher, Salifu Joel, as his running mate for the Nov. 11 election.
Salifu Joel is the current chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and the treasurer of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Kogi State.
Gov Yahaya Bello, who spoke at the event at the Government House, said that the choice of Joel, a class teacher and unionist, as the deputy governorship candidate of the APC, was borne out of the party’s desire to carry everybody along in its quest for the development of the state.
Gov Bello assured that he would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the APC wins the governorship election in the state.
In his words “APC will follow and abide by all the existing electoral laws to win the November 11 election, moreso that my administration has performed creditably well in the areas of infrastructure provision, quality education, and healthcare delivery, among others.”
The governor warned: “In this dispensation, we won’t tolerate any politics of bitterness nor condone any act of political violence because Kogi as a state is bigger than any personal interest.”
The state’s APC chairman, Abdullahi Bello, commended the selection of the running mate for the party’s governorship candidate from a very critical section of society.
The deputy governorship candidate in his response said: “I am short of words for me as a classroom teacher to be nominated as the running mate and deputy governor to the APC guber candidate.”
Joel, who said he heartily accepted the position, assured that he will “do all I can to ensure that our party becomes victorious in the forthcoming governorship election.”
