In furtherance of his campaign, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stormed Osogbo, Osun state capital Thursday, where he told the mammoth crowd of party supporters that the fuel and cash crises won’t stop his victory come February 25.
Tinubu, who had earlier held a meeting with the traditional rulers in Osun before heading for the venue of the rally, assured the youths of his readiness to create jobs through the establishment of manufacturing companies in every nook and cranny of the country, saying that he is skilled on how to squeeze water out the rocks.
He called on Nigerians, particularly Osun residents who had not collected their Permanent Voter Cards, to go and do so as that remains the only power they have to elect him and other candidates of the party.
Addressing the crowd in Yoruba at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo via Old garage, Tinubu said: “We are very grateful for seeing this mammoth crowd. Please go and pick your PVCs. This is the only thing to rescue you. We pray that you will be happy forever. Intrigues of money and fuel scarcity will not frustrate my presidential bid. There is nothing they can say. Even if they turn the money to Kobo, the place where we are going to vote is not far from our houses. We will trek to polling units to cast our votes. Wherever they put the ballot boxes, we will get there.
“On the day of the presidential election, please use your PVCs to elect us. If they relocate the polling units, we will get there, vote and win. God will not put you to shame.
“We are determined. So, if some people think they can cause unnecessary hardship, we will show you that vultures have been in the rain for long and it didn’t die. Instead, he is eating fat day-in-day-out from libations and public appeases.”
“You don’t smash the seed from a palm nut by being gentlemanly. We are not bastards. We were the ones that put them there and we will be the ones to succeed them. If you say you want to frustrate us, we have come a long way and no matter the situation, we will remain steadfast. We are grateful for your gesture towards us,” he further said.
On job creation, Tinubu said: “All the youths searching for jobs will get a job. I want to assure you that whoever wants to learn a craft will do so conveniently. We will establish companies for our children who couldn’t gain admission.
“For those who are in school, call me a bastard if you spend more than four years. You will use four years to finish your studies. We will lend those who are not financially capable money. Whatever your school fees are, we will pay them. No child of the poor will be left out. We are all equal. Wherever they locate polling unit, we will trek to the place, we will vote and we will emerge victorious.”
He addressed the teeming residents and party supporters in the company of Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano) and Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) with the APC national leadership.
On land borders
Also speaking on land borders, the APC Presidential Campaign Council asked farmers to resist voting for presidential candidates seeking to re-open land borders.
Director Agro-Directorate of the PCC Abubakar Bello stated this Thursday at the national stakeholders engagement and mobilisation summit at the campaign headquarters in Abuja.
Bello said farmers cannot afford to be complacent by allowing someone who would reverse the policy of this administration.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate had, during his campaign in Sokoto and Kebbi states, said he would reopen the nation’s borders if elected.
Faulting the position, however, Bello said: “We should never be complacent, we heard over the news that one of the presidential candidates informed the world that he will open the land borders of this country. What does that portend for Nigeria?
“We will go back to those days of importation of rice, importation of weapons, making our youths unemployed—all the establishment and investment will be moribund and we will go back to square one. We cannot afford that. We must mobilise all our members to vote for Asiwaju.”
The federal government had ordered the closure of land borders in 2019 to stop smuggling activities.
But in 2021, the federal government opened the border points of Seme in the South-west, Ilela and Maitagari in the North-west, and Mfun in the South-south.
This is just as the government’s ban on the importation of rice, poultry, and other products subsists.
On mobilisation of voters, Bello said the directorate was targeting 17 million votes from farmers in order to continue the agricultural policy of the Buhari administration.
He said: “We cannot afford to allow in a clueless government that had already promised to open the national borders and take us back to the era of massive food and weapons import, and make our over 70 newly established integrated rice mills and other agricultural investments to become moribund and our youths unemployed.”
Lai clarifies
Meanwhile, Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has clarified that President Muhammadu Buhari is fully in support of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Following Kaduna state Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s claim that some elements in the Villa were working against the APC presidential candidate in the February polls, Mohammed said the federal government was not officially aware of such persons.
He was quoted to have said: “If there’s anybody who is working against any candidate, we don’t know officially.”
Clarifying his earlier statement Thursday, the minister said: “But first, let me use this occasion to make a quick clarification. Yesterday, while reacting to a question at the post-FEC briefing at the State House, I said, inter alia, that Mr President is committed to free, fair and credible elections, and that he is doing everything possible to ensure a level playing field for all contestants.
“This comment has been misinterpreted in some circles, especially with regard to Mr President’s support for the presidential candidate of our party, the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Well, I want to say, unequivocally, that Mr President is in total support of our party’s flag bearer, and that is attested to by his continuing campaign with the candidate across the country.
“It is preposterous to even suggest that Mr President, who is the leader of our party, is equivocating in his support for our presidential candidate. I hope this clears any ambiguity that may have arisen from my statement yesterday.
