Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration will engender and promote the entrenchment of true federalism, if and when he becomes the president in 2023.
Director General of the Asiwaju Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation (ATPCO), Dr Bayo Shittu, said this while addressing a press conference in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, today.
Shittu, a former Minister of Communication, said true federalism is part of the seven-point agenda of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 elections.
He christened the seven-point agenda as “Nigeria’s Rebirth Manifesto” and listed it to include Quintessential National Leadership (a true statesman); and Innovation-Induced Technological Advancement For All-Round National Growth.
Others, Shittu said, included Effective and All-Round Security; Infrastructural Transformation; Home-Grown Businesses for Economic Revitalisation and Full Employment; and Comprehensive Overhaul of the National Education System.
“These and more are the virtues of Asiwaju Tinubu that we shall espouse as we embark on this campaign,” the ATPCO Director General said.
Dr Shittu described as “unique and potentially ground-breaking”, the mandate the APC gave to Senator Tinubu to become the president in 2023.
This was as he also declared that the campaign organisation would take what he termed Tinubu’s message of hope to the electorate at the remotest parts of the country, using various channels of communication.
“We shall be focused on our vision of marketing our principal and we have no doubt that the Nigerian electorate will make the right choice of voting for Asiwaju Tinubu in the presidential election so that Nigeria’s journey to greatness can begin in earnest.
“This is our ultimate goal. It is achievable. Definitely, our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will be the next president of Nigeria by the grace of the Almighty.
“Let me emphasise that ATPCO will cooperate fully with the party’s National Campaign Council set up by our party. But for us to make a success of the campaign, all hands must be on deck in good time.
“Our campaign strategy and blueprint will be unveiled soon and I, Dr. Adebayo Shittu, as the Director General, shall be readily available to answer any enquiry on this project,” he said.
The Director General of ATPCO expressed appreciation to the APC leadership and members of the party for their support in ensuring the emergence of Senator Tinubu as the APC presidential candidate.
“At this juncture, may I start by express profound appreciation and gratitude, first to the northern APC governors for their overwhelming and ice-breaking support for our Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu before the APC presidential primary.
“This was at a most defining game-changing moment which substantially galvanized support towards Asiwaju’s eventual triumph.
Secondly, our gratitude goes to President Muhammadu Buhari for his maturity, selflessness and patriotism in supporting the earlier resolution of the northern APC governors.
“This most stabilizing presidential ingenuity contributed, no doubt, in uniting our great party towards a successful presidential primary.
“Last but not the least, is our other presidential aspirants who withdrew from the presidential primary, out of respect for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as our party progress.
“They all deserve the applause of all Nigerians for their maturity, patriotism and sincere love for our great party,” Dr Shittu further said.
Speaking on the essence of the campaign organisation, he said it was set up principally to galvanize support and midwife the electoral process that will culminate into Senator Tinubu winning the presidential election in 2023.
“While we were working towards the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the candidate of our great party, it made sense to have so many groups.
“But now that our leader has become the party’s bonafide presidential candidate, it is best that we put all our resources together to make the exercise impactful and successful.
“Please, let no one make any mistake about it; we are ready to take the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidential campaign to every nook and cranny of this nation.
“We shall get to all the 36 states and the FCT. We shall be in all the 774 local government areas of the country; and we shall visit each of the 8,813 wards in the country. We shall get in touch with all eligible voters and reach every Nigerian.
“This is a very important campaign and we shall give it all that it requires. We shall leave no stone unturned to ensure that Asiwaju emerges as the duly elected president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria after the 2023 presidential election.
“Though the task ahead may be daunting, the business of marketing Asiwaju Tinubu shall be easy because he is a man of immense goodwill.
“He is very much loved by Nigerians across regions and religions. He is at home with people of diverse culture and orientation and that makes him the obvious choice to make our nation great.
“His antecedents speak volumes of his abilities. He is head and shoulders above other flag-bearers when it comes to understanding the economy.
“He loves the youth and wants the best for them. He is interested in the welfare of the downtrodden and wants to help them get better. He is a champion of social justice. He is the kind of president Nigeria needs to take it to the envisioned height,” he said.
Dr Shittu also solicit the support of the media for the realisation of the presidential ambition of Senator Tinubu, noting that the Press is very essential to the sustenance of peace and unity in the country.
“As we journey into the 2023 elections, I implore you gentlemen of the pen profession to be diligent and forward-looking in your reportage, discourse, agenda setting and editorials, please, do not overheat the polity.
“Rather, we must always be nation-builders. Let your reports be incisive and such that would help members of the public to make the right choice and take the right actions.
“We must avoid any act inimical to our unity as a nation and anything that can truncate the electoral process before and during the 2023 elections,” he added.
