For the umpteenth time, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said he’s fit and healthy to lead Nigeria, even as he identified himself, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)’s candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and that of Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi as major contenders for the 2023 presidential race.
In recent time, there has been controversy around Tinubu’s health status with some people insisting he wasn’t physically fit for the job.
‘I’m fit for the job’
But speaking weekend at a dinner organised in his honour by the Kano business community, the APC standard bearer slammed his critics, insisting he was fit and healthy for the nation’s top job.
At the event, the business community made certain demands of the presidential candidate which he promised to meet without any alteration if he emerged as president.
Tinubu was originally in Kano to inaugurate the APC governorship and presidential campaign offices, during which he also donated the sum of N500,000,000 to victims of flood disaster in the state.
Speaking straight to the audience, Tinubu said: “I’m neither running for a 100-yard nor 500-yard race nor am I competing in WWE wrestling. I’m running for the presidency which is a knowledge-driven job. I am very healthy. Do I look sick?”
The former Lagos state governor assured the demands of the business community would be executed 100 percent if he eventually becomes the president.
Inaugurating the campaign offices, Asiwaju Tinubu said putting the country on the right direction would be his major cardinal thrust.
He said: “We will never regret what we are doing all along. We want serve humanity with vigour and commitment. I can only pray for you people to be blessed by God. I once again said, God bless you all. if we come on board in the year2023, women would have a fair share of the deal in terms of representation at all levels of governance and leadership.
“We are not here for a campaign, but setting the ball rolling at a preparatory stage. Every one of you should know that we are not going to rest on our oars until victory is attained.”
Speaking at the event, Kano state Governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje said the APC remains the winning ticket all through, giving the array of the federal government’s presence caused by the Muhammadu Buhari in the state.
Ganduje said: “Is it the Inland Dry port that has been ongoing for over 25 years, which is almost at 100 per cent completion stage or is it the modern railway from Lagos to Kano to Katsina and Maradi, in the Niger Republic.”
Sounding comical, the governor described Tinubu as a ‘son of the soil’ and gave his name as Ashiru Bala Tanimu.
Speaking after the inauguration of campaign offices, the APC national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, said its presidential candidate is a time-tested political figure who had weathered the storm in facing the challenges of partisan politics.
He said: “We are here today, to formally commission our campaign offices in readiness for the 2023 elections which are almost around the corner with what we have seen on ground and the solidarity given to us, we are fully convinced that victory from top to bottom is within our reach. with Kano leading the vanguard, our candidate has no obstacle in actualizing his dream.”
On contenders
Also at an interactive session with leaders of the Tijanniya sect in Kano Sunday, Tinubu narrowed the race to the trio of himself, Atiku and Obi.
“Between all of us running, we are three now left. Isn’t it? One just failed the most important part of the examination. Are you a unifier or a divider? He said ‘I am from the North’. You are a divider!”
Taking on the PDP and its 16-year administration of Nigeria, he said the opposition party invested a huge chunk of the nation’s resources without any result.
He said: “I am reminding you that you don’t need a party who has served 16 years and forget that electricity is the only driver of industrialization and wealth of every nation.
“They spent $16bn and we are still paying for estimated metre and billing. No more!
“I promise to give you 100 not 50, even Dubai they are talking about has only 50. So you will have it better from me than in Dubai.”
Shedding more light on the two other contenders also at the forum, the APC vice presidential candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima, said: “Peter Obi calls Lagos home not Ekwulobia or Awka, because Asiwaju has provided the template that made Lagos the most peaceful … Lagos state now has the 5th largest economy in Africa.”
“He (Tinubu will not divide 50% of his time in Dubai and 50% in Nigeria,” Shettima said in reference to Atiku.
‘Tinubu not promise keeper’
But in a response Sunday, former Vice President Abubakar said his APC counterpart lacked record of keeping promises.
Spokesperson of the Atiku Campaign Organization Kola Ologbondiyan urged the people of Kano state to disregard the promises made by Tinubu, adding that “Tinubu and the APC are not known to keep their words.”
The Atiku campaign however described its candidate and running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, as promise keepers who had always and would continue to fulfill all the promises made to Nigerians.
Dismissing Tinubu’s assertion on giving Nigerians 100 percent of his time, Atiku campaign pointed out that Asiwaju “Tinubu has proven to be unreliable and unavailable for governance as he has been spending his optimal time out of the country for undisclosed reasons.
“On the other hand, the PDP presidential candidate is a full time personality both in words and actions as he has demonstrated in and out of office.
“The people of Kano have not forgotten all the fake promises made to Nigerians by the APC, where Asiwaju is national leader, including bringing the naira to the same value with the US dollar, building one refinery each for the first four years of President Muhammadu Buhari ‘s administration, giving loans to undergraduate students and paying N5,000 to aged men and women.
“Atiku campaign noted that almost eight years down the tenure, not the littlest of these promises has been fulfilled.”
Atiku campaign said it is heart-rending that Tinubu can return to Kano to release another set of fake promises whereas his campaign covenant of 2015 and 2019 was like water poured into a basket.
PDP to APC: Be ready to account for your failure
Also in a newsletter sent Sunday to Blueprint, the PDP presidential candidate said Nigerians would hold the All Progressives Congress for “their failure.”
He said: “It’s a plan that encompasses a wide range of the challenges that beset us currently, and the core purpose of my campaign is to market those plans to Nigerians. For me and everyone in the PDP side, including you, the next general election is a referendum on the performance of the APC.
“The ruling party will want to run away from their poor performance. In fact, they will wish that we focus on topics that are irrelevant to the next election. But we won’t give them that advantage. We will hold them accountable for their scorecards. But even that is not enough. What is more important is that we don’t make the same mistake again.
“That’s why it is incumbent on us to evaluate the plans of each political party and let that be the yardstick of our electoral decisions. As the presidential candidate of the PDP, I shall insist that we focus on issues that are relevant to the next election. I will count on your support in marketing these plans so that, in the end, we both would have done our part to ensure that Nigeria is the ultimate winner in the election next year.”
Meanwhile, a PDP chieftain in Delta state, Chief Fred Majemite, has thrown his support behind its presidential candidate.
Majemite said Abubakar is always eager to serve the country due to his understanding of the nation’s problems.
Majemite said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
He explained that against some perceptions in the public, the PDP candidate is not a desperate politician.
He explained that the candidate had contested for the same office in the past because he is still eager to serve Nigerians.
“You know in politics once you have been beaten by the bug and you really want to prove a point that you will do better, you continue to be involved.
“Atiku Abubakar is eager to serve not desperate, hence his constant interest to be president of the country.
“If he was desperate, he had an option to be president after former President Olusegun Obasanjo first term, but he refused the option, remember at that time he had all the structures.
“But he is eager to serve the country at the presidential level, that is why he always brings himself up to contest for the number one seat.
“He is one man that understands the problems of problems of Nigeria, so I think, we should give him a chance.
“He has come out with his own programme, so we should judge him by that,” he said.
On the expectations from Abubakar should he win the presidential election, Majemite a former gubernatorial aspirant in Delta said tackling insecurity and power problem would be his focus.
“First thing is primarily he should ensure complete and total eradication of insecurity or reduction to a very minimal level.
“After that, it’s not yet uhuru in the power sector. When we talk about the free fall of the naira, we will continue to have this problem, if we don’t get the power crisis sorted out.
“This is because the cost of running a small business is something else due to the cost of diesel.
“Even the solar light, though a welcome development, but how many people can afford it now?, he said.
He said that every Nigerian needs power supply, adding that once the power issue is tackled, investors would naturally troop into the country.
“Even the companies we have here can be revived, because as it is now, most companies in the country have gone underground, because no electricity to run them.
“If he can solve the power problem, he would have been creating enabling environment for people to do their businesses.
“Then we will have enough to export and the naira will be stronger, because if we don’t change our taste, we will continue to get same result,” he said.
He said that presently, the nation is not exporting anything aside crude oil.
“We are saying everyone should go back to agriculture, but even the farm produce, we still need to preserve them, if we are to export them.
“Aside silos, we must also use warmers and dryers, so we still need electricity.
