Razaq Bamidele
A political association, the Southwest Democratic Alliance (SODA), has announced plans for an unprecedented one-million man rally in support of the presidential bid of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State slated to hold simultaneously in the six states of the Southwest geopolitical Zone at a date to be announced soon.
This was contained in statement signed by its convener, Mark Adebayo, after its strategic meeting held in Lagos which was attended by all the State, Local Government and Ward Coordinators of the group Friday. The group promised to carry out “the mother of all rallies unprecedented in the political history of Nigeria to show the overwhelming support of the Southwest for the presidential aspiration of His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello”.
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The meeting which lasted for about one and half hours was attended by some of its officials physically while others who couldn’t be present also joined via Zoom.
“This meeting is a strategic one to agree on the fundamentals of the proposed rally and we have all agreed that it is doable and it’s the best way to demonstrate the fact that Yahaya Bello is not only popular in the Southwest but also the preferred presidential candidate here. Because there is no space big enough to host one million people at the same time and in order to show widespread acceptance across the Southwest geopolitical Zone, plus the current covid-19 pandemic protocols. Therefore, the plan is to have the rallies held separately but simultaneously in the six states of the Southwest.
“We have already identified suitable venues for the rallies in each of the states. The Organising Committee has been given the assignments to fashion out fool–proof modalities for executing this gigantic project without hiccups. It will report back in 10 days and we shall move to the next stage of planning in preparation for the historic event. More details shall be provided in due course,” the statement informed.
It will be recalled that Governor Yahaya Bello is among the first aspirant to indicate his intention to run for the exalted office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria after many groups across the country have been calling on him to run.
He, in turn, has assured his growing number of supporters that he would not disappoint them when the time comes. The first huddle for Yahaya Bello to cross is to secure his election as APC’s presidential candidate and thereafter slug it out with whoever the main opposition Party, PDP, would field as its presidential candidate.
The 2023 presidential election, the group believes, promises to be quite tough and highly competitive