The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, has again lambasted his counterparts in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, respectively, and urged Nigerian voters to reject them in next month’s presidential election.
Tinubu, who called Atiku ‘Mr. Privatise, and Obi ‘Mr. Stingy,’ declared that while the former vice president will sell the birthright of Nigerians and run away with the proceeds, the former governor of Anambra State will save money and starve Nigerians if elected in next month’s election.
However, Obi has urged Nigerians to vote out the two major political parties, PDP and APC, which have been claiming to have structures.
Addressing the APC rally at the Democracy Park, Akure, the Ondo State capital, Tinubu urged the people of the state to live up to that billing by voting APC in the upcoming election.
Taking a swipe at Atiku, the APC presidential candidate said the PDP candidate “doesn’t want to do the brave and hard work required to build a better nation.
“Instead, he would rather sell your birthright to the highest bidder and run away with the proceeds.
“He cares little that his policies and actions will impoverish you and leave you with nothing,” Tinubu added.
On the Labour Party candidate, Tinubu said Obi had a chance to show how progressive he could be when he was governor of Anambra State.
“All he could do was boast that he saved money. But I tell you it is a wicked parent that holds money in his hand yet allows his children to starve.
“Likewise, it is a heartless governor who holds back money when people go hungry, and schools, roads and clinics go into disrepair. Neither the city-dweller nor the farmer prospered under him.
“In the end, he refused to save the people because he preferred to save the money.
“And he claims to be in the party of labour. You will have to be labouring under a terrible delusion if you think he will do better for the nation than he did for Anambra State. Buyers beware of salesmen selling fake merchandise.
“The truth of the difference between my leadership and that of Mr. Obi lies in one observation. Although Lagos is crowded and Anambra has ample space, more people left Obi’s Anambra seeking a better life in Tinubu’s Lagos than left Lagos, believing Obi had established a blueprint for growth in Anambra.
“My people, you cannot entrust your future or that of our nation to Mr. Sell Everything, Atiku, or Mr. Stingy, Obi. But you can trust Mr. Progressive Good Governance Tinubu!” he added.
Tinubu hailed the people of Ondo State, saying they have always been a champion of people-oriented and progressive government.
The APC candidate said: “On February 25, I know you will be a champion of progressive politics again. That date represents for the nation and every one of us an appointment with destiny.
“We not only must make that appointment, but we must also emerge from the appointment fully dedicated to creating a more prosperous, safer, tolerant and dynamic society.
“But these things do not come by accident. These things are but some of the fruits that only progressive and democratic good governance can harvest.
“And that progressive governance can only be brought to you by someone who has governed in a progressive manner before,” he said.
Speaking on his agenda for Ondo State, Tinubu noted that the history of Ondo is one where industrious farmers had for years sowed prosperity through well-cultivated cocoa plantations and other agricultural exploits.
He said his agricultural policies would return the farmer to his esteemed and essential place in society.
“You have been the backbone of the economy and bedrock of the community. You will be honoured as such,” he added.
He re-stated that his government would re-establish commodity exchange boards to ensure farmers a guaranteed price for their yields.
If given the mandate to lead this country, he said his administration would help the state to reap the full benefits of her bounteous resources.
“For example, my agricultural plan also calls for the creation of agricultural hubs in the nation. You will be the direct beneficiary of this policy. These hubs will increase the cultivation of now idle fertile land and also promote agro-processing businesses that will produce many new jobs and put more money in the pockets of the average person and small farmer,” he said.
Tinubu added: “Our economic plan will make strategic investments in industry and infrastructure, giving our talented people the chance to make a good living while producing valuable goods that will improve the quality of life for those who buy them.
“Your natural resources will be more comprehensively utilised. Your oil and gas must bring prosperity, development and jobs.
“But that is not all. Bitumen, granite and marble must be mined and turned into finished products right here in the state under my administration,” Tinubu said.
Speaking at the rally, Ondo State Governor Akeredolu said the people of the state being progressives had resolved to back Tinubu, adding “we will show who we are on February 25, 2023.”
On his part, the National Secretary of APC, Senator Iyiola Omisore thanked Akeredolu and the people of the state for their demonstration of support for APC and Tinubu.
According to the statement issued by the Head of Tinubu Media Office, Alhaji Tunde Rahman, the rally, which attracted a mammoth crowd, was attended among others, by Governors Akeredolu (Ondo), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), former Osun State governor, Gboyega Oyetola, and Omisore who represented the party’s National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.
Vote out APC, PDP Structures, Obi Tells Supporters
Meanwhile, Obi has urged Nigerians to vote out the PDP and the APC, which have been claiming to have structures.
Obi, who spoke in Osogbo, Osun State, yesterday at the presidential campaign rally held by his party, also said ethnicity and religious reasons should not be considered by the voters in the next month’s poll.
The LP presidential candidate who was obviously taking swipes at the APC and the PDP promised to fight corruption.
He added that he and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, had been successful businessmen before going into public administration.
He also said: “Nigerians are hungry, youths have no job. It is not safe to travel anywhere in Nigeria today. All these challenges are caused by those who say they have party structures. But these structures have crippled Nigeria. I want me and you to destroy these structures by voting them out next month.
“We are going to secure and unite Nigeria. We want Nigeria to be proud of being a Nigerian. We will deliver a secured Nigeria. We don’t want Nigerians to be in the IDP camp, we don’t want you to be a slave in your own country.
“We are going to govern this country with fear of God. We will give you jobs. We will change Nigeria from a consuming country to a producing country. These people kept on bragging that they have structures. Yet, they are not doing anything. They are not producing anything in this state, youths are unemployed; we will change these challenges.”
Ejiofor Alike in Lagos and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
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