The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, took his campaign to Ondo State yesterday where he told the electorate to vote for him massively in next month’s election in order to secure the future of the country.
He said neither the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) flag bearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, nor that of Labour Party (LP), Mr.Peter Obi, deserved to be entrusted with the destiny of Nigeria in view of their antecedents.
Atiku, he said, would “sell everything” belonging to Nigeria while Obi, according to him, is too stingy to take proper care of the people.
He said the former Anambra State governor spent eight years in office saving money instead of taking care of the people who elected him.
He said of Atiku: “He 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 off with the proceeds.
“He cares little that his policies and actions will impoverish you and leave you with nothing.”
As for Obi, Tinubu told the huge crowd at the Moshood Kasimawo Abiola Democracy Park, Oja Oba, Akure that the former Anamra State governor had a chance to show how progressive he could be but “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, schools, road and clinics go into disrepair. Neither the city-dweller nor farmer prospered under him.
“In the end, he refused to save the people because he preferred to save money.
“And he claims to be 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.
“Buyer, 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.”
Unveiling his own agenda for Ondo State, the APC candidate said he would give priority attention to agricultural development particularly because the history of the state is one where industrious farmers have, for years, sowed prosperity through well cultivated cocoa plantations and other agricultural exploits.
He said his agricultural policies would return farmers to their 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 pledged.
He re-stated that his government would reestablish commodity exchange boards to ensure farmers a guaranteed price for their yields.
He said: “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 cultivation of now idle fertile land yet 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.”
Speaking on the presidential election, he said: “On February 25, I know you will be a champion of progressive politics again. That date represents for the nation and for each and every one of us an appointment with destiny.
“We not only must make that appointment, we must 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.”
Also addressing the rally, Ondo State Governor Akeredolu said the people of the state, being progressives, had resolved to totally back Tinubu, adding “we will show who we are on February 25, 2023.”
National Secretary of the APC, Senator Iyiola Omisore, who stood in for the party national Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, thanked Akeredolu and the people of the state for their demonstration of support for APC and Tinubu.
