The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has dismissed insinuations of disagreement between him and the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), describing the latter’s support as unalloyed and enduring.
Speaking at the APC rally in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital on Saturday, Tinubu pledged to leverage on the state’s agrarian potential to tackle its developmental challenges.
Reading from a prepared speech, the former Lagos State governor said, “I have supported Buhari even before his first day in office. I will continue to be his supporter and friend after his last day in office.
“He tackled the problems other leaders ran from. He has earned a place in history that cannot be denied.
“I have said this before and will say it again now: when the true history of this moment is written, President Buhari shall be treated very kindly because of his contributions to the nation,” he said.
Urging the people to reject opposition candidates, Tinubu said, “Their vision for Nigeria is the vision of one who cannot see. They seek to enrich themselves by making you poor. They want to eat everything so that you might go hungry. They want to own everything but leave you with nothing.
“We stand here today to affirm that our vision for a greater Nigeria will triumph over their blind vision for a broken Nigeria. Remember, where there is blind vision, there is also blind ambition.
“We will not allow their selfish games to overtake you. Buhari has done his part to free Nigeria from their mean grip. Now, we must do our part by freeing you from the selfish plans they have for you and our beloved land.
“Do not let those others fool you into returning to the past where you had no hope and had no say regarding the life you shall live and the future you shall enter. The APC remains the best and only hope for a more prosperous and peaceful nation,” he added.
He also praised the Zamfara governor, Bello Matawalle, for his role in tackling the security challenges in the state, stressing that alongside his running mate, Kashim Shettima, they have what it takes to restore peace not only in Zamfara but across the nation as a whole.
A statement issued by the Tinubu Media Office and signed by Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, quoted the presidential candidate as saying that “If Allah blesses us to win this election, we will not relent until we beat this problem.
“My running mate has battled Boko Haram. As governor of Lagos, I too have fought kidnappers and violent criminals. We will use our experience and our vision to defeat the wrongdoers.
“My security plan will empower all branches of security forces. There will be more personnel and we shall improve their ability to identify, pursue and stop the evil – doers. We will use modern air and ground technology to trace and capture these criminals.”
On his plan for the state if elected, Tinubu noted that “Zamfara has great deposits of natural resources. My economic plan is to closely cooperate with the state government to attract the right type of investment in mining. This investment will not exploit the people of Zamfara. Instead, it will open the door to safer mining, better jobs and increased economic growth for the state.”