The presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress in the 2023 general elections, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Monday took his campaign to London, United Kingdom, where he revealed his plans to rebuild the nation’s economy, security and foreign policy if elected as president.
This came as the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, stormed Lagos and urged Lagosians to change the APC government which he said had been dominated by one family.
Tinubu, who spoke at the Chatham House in London, shared his thoughts during an addressed titled “Nigeria’s 2023 elections: Security, economic and foreign policy imperatives.”
He said, “The challenges which have manifested themselves with regard to our national and regional development, as well as security trajectories, are very well-known to all of us here – radical extremist violence, terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, human trafficking, trafficking in weapons, trafficking in drugs, climate change and resource-driven conflicts.”
Tinubu was accompanied to the lecture by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Abubakar Bello (Niger), Ben Ayade (Cross Rivers), Abubakar Badaru, (Jigawa), David Umahi (Ebonyi) as well as the former governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and ex-National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole.
Others were former deputy governor of Lagos State, Chief Femi Pedro; former Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Dele Alake; PCC Finance Director, Olawale Edun; Senator Tokunbo Abiru, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, former deputy governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Adesegun, Hadiza Bala-Usman and a Lagos APC chieftain, Alhaji Mutiu Are.
The APC candidate also reiterated his desire to consolidate the gains of the current administration, especially in the area of agriculture and infrastructure.
Tinubu also expressed willingness to engage the private sector actively if he wins the February 25, 2023 presidential poll.
He stated, “I guess my name is Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the current president is Muhammadu Buhari. There is nowhere in the constitution that says the current administration can’t be in continuity. This doesn’t mean removal from adaptation to my own developmental policies. I did it in Lagos.
“The present administration has invested heavily in agriculture, providing loans and expanding the country’s total acreage of cultivated land. We will build on this, but our focus will be on using technology and expertise to accelerate growth and development by providing the critical infrastructure necessary to achieve the commodity transformations in the agriculture value chain.”
He added, “Roads, rail, access to ports, and storage infrastructure are what we require to radically transform the agriculture sector and increase its value to the nation. Providing these will be the areas of our focus so that the full potential of our agro-economy can be achieved, and we can reap the benefits in jobs, improved economic opportunities and increased prosperity.”
The former Lagos State governor also unveiled plans to fix the energy sector crisis.
