2023: Nollywood actors endorse Yahaya Bello for president

A group of Nigerian actors and actresses endorsed the candidature of Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

The Nollywood celebrities led by Seun Oloketuyi met with Yahaya Bello on Tuesday in Abuja where the pledged their supports to his presidential ambition.

Seun applauded governor Bello who he said has included youths in governance, adding that it was what Nigeria needed.

He said; “Nollywood is the second employer of labor today. We believe that ahead of the 2023 elections Nollywood has a great role to play as most of the stars have very huge followers which makes them influential in what they say.

“Going into 2023, the Nollywood stars have said they will not just sit down and fold their hands but sensitize their followers on voting for a youth as President in person of governor Yahaya Bello.”

In his remarks, Dr Segun Okeowo, Director-General, Best of Nollywood (BON) presented a notification of interest to Bello, seeking the State to host the 13th edition of the BON award in November.

On his part, Governor Yahaya Bello commended the filmmakers for their contributions in the creative industry which has contributed to increasing Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment, youth empowerment and showcasing Nigeria to the world, adding that as they were urging him to run for President in 2023, while he would listen to them, he would throw a challenge at them to play active roles in political participation in the country as he was also playing his part in nation building.

According to him, his administration has also taken into cognizance that what will last longer than the present generation is a knowledge-based economy rather than a resource-based economy, emphasising on the need for developing of human and knowledge-based resources, especially through youth inclusion in governance.

He noted that the State before he was sworn in used to be a state that was divided among herself, a long ethnic line, religious line, class, background and several other types of criminality used to be the order of the day but by his leadership style and the various touch of qualities of the young men and women he was able to assemble, the reverse was the case currently.

He, however, added that Kogi State would soon be an oil producing state and such feet would be celebrated, but this is the greatest undoing of Nigeria where “we are depending solely on resources, either oil or solid minerals”.

“We have been able to discover that we have these solid minerals but we are establishing a University that is coming up this year that will be second to none in Nigeria where we are going to develop our knowledge.

“Where our solids minerals will no longer leave Kogi State in raw form again, that is what we need in Nigeria,” Bello said.