By Chinelo Obogo and Lukman Olabiyi
Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has vowed to work hard to restore hopes to the masses and make Nigeria great if elected.
He also assured no agenda in his party’s manifesto would be left untouched.
Tinubu spoke during the grand finale of the APC rally at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, yesterday.
“Mr. President, I assure you, as you worked hard for me, I’ll work hard for Nigeria. As you give Nigerians the hope to renew their faith in their country, I will sustain that hope.
“Those who are helpless today will be helpful in this country. All the agenda set in our programme – renewed hope manifesto – will be pursued diligently, vigorously, with all our energy,” he said.
The APC candidate attributed the country’s trajectory to President Muhammadu Buhari’s courage and confidence, leadership, vision, and determination.
“Thank you Mr. President for everything. You set our foot on the part to the future and achieved greatness because it is desirable for Nigeria to be great. But you said for anyone to succeed you, he or she must work hard and must follow the law. You said the election must be very transparent and that your party would be a shining example like the sun shining on the mountain. You followed the procedure and you encouraged all of us. The primary came, the votes were cast and we all waited anxiously and I won. You didn’t ask them to reverse it based upon my religion. You didn’t ask them to alter it based upon my tribe, you didn’t ask us to change it because I was not from your village in Daura. You celebrated my victory and congratulated me. I came to you to nominate my running mate just like I did for you in 2015 but you said no and told me that I know better whom I would want to work with. You gave me the courage and the confidence and the reason for this country and your vision is for growth, independence of mind and the capacity to think. You encouraged me and after that, I made my choice and I chose the most knowledgeable.
“I heard loud and clear the level of confidence you have in me. In a distant country, Mr. President told them of my characteristics and his faith in my capacity to do a good job as a president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I thank him very much.
“He returned yesterday and said he must come to Lagos to attend this rally. He never minced his word and promise. He promised to give to you the future of this country – to lay it in the hands of the youths. I want to say thank you very much.
“I assure you that as you worked hard for me, I will work hard for Nigeria. As you give Nigerians the hope to renew their faith in their country, I will sustain that hope. I will bring it to those who look helpless today. All the agenda in our programme – renewed hope manifesto – will be pursued diligently and vigorously with all our energy.”
In his brief remark, President Buhari, wished Tinubu well in Saturday’s poll and prayed for victory of the ruling party in the poll.
He described Tinubu as a committed Nigerian who has contributed so much to the development of the APC and the country.
President Buhari symbolically raised the hands of Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, saying: “I wish you the best.”
National Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Adamu, urged the people to vote for the party on Saturday so that the legacies of the outgoing administration would be sustained.
“We need your votes. By midday Saturday, we want to hear that the deal is done and we have a president,” he said.