I Won’t Abandon Governance for Campaign, Tinubu Pledges

President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, inaugurated his coalition campaign council, charging members to move to all parts of the country and deliver his re-election mandate.

He also asked them not to expect him to accompany them to every campaign rally ahead of the 2027 general election, stressing that the demands of governance and Nigeria’s economic obligations must take priority over electioneering.

The president, speaking at the inauguration of the All progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja yesterday, charged party leaders to take the administration’s message to the grassroots, while he continues to attend to the affairs of state.

His declaration came as the ruling party intensified preparations for the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, with Vice-President Kashim Shettima taking swipes at the presidential candidates of African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, over their economic proposals and criticisms of the administration.

Also speaking, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, warned APC governors and other campaign leaders against claiming victory if they fail to deliver their respective states for Tinubu, declaring that electoral performance, rather than positions in the campaign council, will determine success.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, represented by Anambra State governor, Chukwuma Soludo, also pledged support for Tinubu’s re-election, describing the level of political and elite consensus around the President as unprecedented.

Similarly, Imo State governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Hope Uzodimma, rallied APC governors behind the President, urging them to sustain the administration’s reforms, close ranks and mobilise voters across the country.

Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, said Tinubu deserves re-election to continue his projects because four years would not be enough to complete the administration’s transformation agenda.

Nigeria needs more attention now

Explaining why he would not be available for every campaign outing, Tinubu said the responsibilities of his office could not be suspended because of the election.

“You have warned me and asked me not to allow rigours of the campaign distract me from governance. I hear you. I am in full agreement with your decision.

“Nigeria needs more attention now than ever before. The responsibility of this office does not pause,” the President said.

Tinubu added that he would still make time to address Nigerians directly, even as the campaign council coordinates mobilisation across the states and local government areas.

“The job must go on. However, I will still make time to speak directly with Nigerians, even as you lead the campaign in the states and local government areas, so you will excuse me from going everywhere with you,” he said.

Tinubu linked his decision to the need to meet the country’s financial obligations, sustain investor confidence and attract long-term investments into the economy.

“We have bills to pay. The American creditors cannot wait. We want those investors to come in, be here to stay, to invest for the future of our children,” he said.

The President maintained that inauguration of the campaign council is not merely a political ceremony but an opportunity for the APC to renew its commitment to Nigerians.

“We have not gathered merely to inaugurate a council, we have gathered to renew a covenant, a covenant with the Nigerian people and the historic responsibility they have thrust to us as Nigeria’s governing party,” he said.

He charged members of the council to communicate the administration’s vision, record and policy agenda to Nigerians, insisting that the party must work towards victory in every ward.

“This council will carry our vision, our record and our agenda to every Nigerian, and it will carry them to victory,” he said.

Tinubu declared that the APC is entering the election contest “strong, united and renewed,” but cautioned members against complacency, stressing that their previous electoral efforts will count for little without another victory.

“I thank all of you for the last election, but no one gets credit for an incomplete assignment. Until you deliver the next election, until you deliver your words, until you deliver the votes, before we can say thank you,” he said.

He also commended party members for successfully conducting their congresses, despite predictions that the exercise could trigger an internal crisis.

“They said there will be implosion. We passed through it. We did not fail. You didn’t let us down. We got here together,” he said.

Invoking the APC’s symbol, Tinubu urged members to remain committed to tackling poverty, ignorance, illiteracy and under-development.

“That broken shackle represents nothing but breaking the shackle of poverty, ignorance, illiteracy, inaction and failure. We must break the jinx at the back of poverty in this country,” he said.

Shettima takes on Obi, Atiku

In his remarks, Shettima criticised Obi over his economic prescriptions and frequent comparisons between Nigeria and other countries, particularly Bangladesh, arguing that economic policies must reflect the peculiar circumstances of individual countries.

Describing Obi as “my very good friend,” the vice president questioned the suitability of applying foreign economic models to Nigeria without considering differences in population, economic structure, institutions and national priorities.

“He seems convinced that a size 36 shirt tailored for Bangladesh will somehow fit Nigeria’s size 52 frame,” Shettima said.

He argued that governance require a clear understanding of a country’s social, economic, political and institutional realities.

“What succeeds in Bangladesh cannot simply be transplanted to Nigeria without accounting for the differences in our population, economic structures, institutions and national circumstances,” he said.

“A country of over 250 million people cannot be governed through borrowed statistics and economic prescriptions detached from its peculiarities,’’ he said.

Shettima also challenged Obi’s claim that he won the 2023 presidential election, describing the assertion as a “bogus claim” and accusing him of making statements unsupported by evidence.

“This is called delusion of grandeur,” he said, adding that the APC’s political contest was with “the politics of yesterday dressed as tomorrow’s deliverance.”

Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party, finished third behind Tinubu and Atiku.

He has repeatedly criticised the Tinubu administration’s economic management, arguing, among other things, that Nigeria’s challenge is the management of public funds rather than borrowing.

The vice president also took on Atiku over his promise to restore petrol subsidy if elected President in 2027.

Atiku, the ADC presidential candidate, has maintained that his proposed subsidy would be production-based, targeted, capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited, rather than a return to the previous import-dependent arrangement.

He had argued that the measure will support domestic refining and production. On October 9, Atiku also criticised the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount at NNPC retail outlets as “too limited and selective,” renewing his call for a production-based subsidy.

But Shettima questioned the financial implications of the proposal, arguing that Atiku’s position raised fundamental questions about funding and competing national priorities.

He described the political season as “a masterclass in cinematic comedy,” accusing the former vice president of changing his ideological position for political advantage.

Atiku, he said, had worn “the toga of capitalism with pride throughout his political career” but now sounded like “the legitimate offspring of Vladimir Lenin.”

Shettima added: “Who pays? Who benefits? And which competing priorities must surrender their funding? A change of ideological wardrobe cannot balance a national budget,” he declared.

He said political ambition should be measured not merely by the desire to occupy public office but also by character, intellectual maturity and responsibility.

“The higher the office a person seeks, the greater the discipline expected in his words, conduct and relationship with public institutions,” he said.

Metrowatchxtra

The post I Won’t Abandon Governance for Campaign, Tinubu Pledges appeared first on MetrowatchXtra .