The executive governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, says youths who participated in the #EndSARS protests have a reason to vote for Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the 2023 general election.
Bello spoke on Monday during an interview with Channels Television.
The Kogi governor was recently appointed as the national youth coordinator of the Tinubu-Shettima presidential campaign council.
Speaking during the interview, Bello said he was appointed based on his performance in Kogi state.
The Kogi governor added that he will sensitize the #EndSARS protesters on the need to see Tinubu as the “right way” to go in the 2023 general election.
“First point where the #EndSARS protesters should have vented their anger was to participate, politically, in the selection of who becomes candidates in the various political parties. That is number one,” Bello said.
“Street protests and agitations are completely different from voting during election and electoral process. You will recall that I’m the first governor who identified with the #EndSARS.
“Three times, I addressed the #EndSARS protesters at that time and they listened to me, especially those who reared their heads in Kogi state as at that time.
“Even after the #EndSARS protest, I had the opportunity of meeting with some of the #EndSARS leaders and I told them exactly where they got it wrong.
“I am equally going to tell, sensitise and educate them about where they are headed or how they will get it wrong if they don’t follow the right way, and the right way is to vote senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who will come and display his prowess in solving the problems we are being confronted with.”
The 2020 #EndSARS protests — against police brutality — were a series of demonstrations across the country that lasted days before it was hijacked by hoodlums.
The protests also resulted in the disbandment of the special anti-robbery squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), while judicial panels to probe police brutality were set up across states.