While addressing young political appointees and supporters of the current administration during a dinner at the Presidential Villa, Bello described the president as a good product who must be marketed effectively to win a second term in office.

According to the governor, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) must take charge of the narrative and sell the president's first term achievements very well to the Nigerian people.

He warned that the opposition must not be allowed to take control of the narrative and shape perceptions of the president because he expects the 2019 presidential election to be a tough contest between the APC and the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

He said, "A good product sells itself and Mr President is a very good product. And his competence is definitely needed for the progress of this nation but we need to go out there and sell him to the people.

"We must market the incredible accomplishment of Mr President and of his administration to every voter and in a language he or she understands. If we fail, God forbids, the adverse narrative being put out by the PDP and other propaganda machine will dominate the land and shape perception.

"Public Relations professionals will tell you that at some point, having a good product without excellent advertising is like winking in the dark - you know what you are doing, but no one else does.

"Perception is reality when it comes to politics and campaigning.  Perception management is therefore critical in times like this.

"If those of us in APC do not sell this winning product very well, economic recovery will be mistaken for slow-down due to poor management of the nation's economy;

"Measures to protect local industries and stimulate domestic production will be mistaken for deliberate impoverishment of the populace via high prices of essential commodities;

"Borrowing for rapid infrastructural development will be mistaken for unwarranted or misapplied debt;

"A tough and progressive victory against a terrorist threat which continues to cost the nation the lives of her brave military and law enforcement personnel will be mistaken for inaction;

"A difficult fight against old and new forms of insecurity, which is designed to neutralise security threats across parts of the nation without criminalising whole tribes or populations, will be mistaken for victimisation of some and condonation of others;

"Trial of politically exposed offenders using long existent laws which previous leaders were not willing to deploy against cronies and accomplices will be mistaken for extrajudicial measures and disdain for the Rule of Law;

"Social safety nets for the poor under the various Social Investment Programmes and payment of long outstanding obligations to unjustly treated segments of our citizenry will be mistaken for bribery of the populace or vote buying tricks.

"If we fail to take charge of the narrative and persuade people till they see the true intents of this administration's policies, we will have a much harder job mobilising the votes we need to get Mr President re-elected.

"If we do not put Mr. President's achievements before our people till they can recite it themselves, they may agree with the shameless PDP that the heartless corruption which it is offering again is somehow better than the alleged 'incompetence' of the APC which has accomplished every good thing I listed above.

"In summary, all may be lost if we do not get the Nigerian people to see why they must allow Mr President continue his great work as they go to the polls in 2019.

"As members of the APC, we will not deny that our party has a huge task before us in the 2019 general elections. The elections will not be a walkover, the PDP will not be a pushover and we must take nothing and no one for granted."

APC will beat PDP in 2019 - Bello

Governor Bello also expressed his confidence that the ruling APC will defeat the PDP because the party's three years in power has been better for the country than PDP's previous 16 years of democratic rule.

He said the achievement of the Buhari-led administration has eclipsed the PDP's years of alleged mismanagement of the country.

He said, "The APC is promising to continue re-writing the age-long negatives which have plagued our nation to positives. This is the message we must all take to every nook and cranny of this nation, and from door to door.

"On the other hand, all the crooked PDP is offering Nigerians is 'Corruption is better than Incompetence' and 'Anybody but Buhari'.

"I say they have made our job easy, assuming we are ready to work hard."

The 2019 presidential election, scheduled for February 16, 2019, is expected to be keenly-contested between President Buhari and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, of the PDP.

However, they both face competition from over 70 other candidates including Donald Duke of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), Obiageli Ezekwesili of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Fela Durotoye of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC).

Others are Tope Fasua of the Abundance Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Eunice Atuejide of the National Interest Party (NIP), Olusegun Mimiko of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Adesina Fagbenro-Byron of the Kowa Party (KP), Chike Ukaegbu of the Advanced Allied Party (AAP), Hamza Al-Mustapha of the People's Party of Nigeria (PPN), Obadiah Mailafia of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and many more.