Tinubu returns nomination forms, says Nigeria on the path to recovery

By Jude Opara

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday returned his expression of interest and nomination forms for the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election, with a claim that the country is already on the path to recovery.
Tinubu who was represented by Vice President, Kashim Shettima called on all Nigerians to support the administration in its quest to reposition the country both economically and socially.
And Nigeria is on a path to recovery and growth. In this democracy, every one of us has a role to play. Some will spread the beautiful successes of our party and administration.
Shettima who noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not officially lifted the ban on campaigns said President Tinubu will be ready to campaign to Nigerians and convince them on why they should offer him another opportunity because of the numerous achievements of his government.
According to him, the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration has reflected in many successes so far recorded across the country.
“As he seeks to lead us for another four years’ time through thick and thin, the President has proved his mettle and has shown the world that his capacity and resolve to pull the nation out of the woods remain.
“Indeed, the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President has reflected in many successes of this administration. The socio-economic impacts have been phenomenal in pushing positive results.
“The President, has delivered on the mandate of stability and national revival.
The storms of the past years have not diminished him. They have made a party hero out of him.
“He has sailed this ship through troubling waters with courage, taking difficult but necessary decisions to stabilise the economy, restore confidence and prepare Nigeria for a more sustainable future”.
The Vice President further noted that despite the fact that Tinubu took over the leadership of the country when the numbers were very low, he has managed to pull the nation out of the woods through his sound and effective economic policies.
“When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed the mantle of leadership, our foreign reserves stood at about $33.99 billion, not enough to support the importation of oil for one month.
“Instead of passing blame, instead of kicking the ball down the road, he decided to take part in the election, to win and to make the country work. And Nigeria is now working. He never resorted to cheap propaganda. Or battered anyone who criticised him before he became President”.
The former governor of Bornu state equally appealed to all and sundry, irrespective of their political ideologies to make the necessary sacrifices to ensure that the hope of the people was restored.
“On behalf of our great party, I urge all Nigerians, I beseech all our countrymen, irrespective of differences in political affiliations, religious persuasions, private or social background, to support this nomination”.
Earlier in his speech, the National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nantawe Yilwatda said with the litany of dignitaries, including governors that joined the Vice President to the occasion showed the level of support President Tinubu is getting ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Yilwatda recalled that avalanche of endorsements and support the President has received from different organs of the party, including the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), the National Executive Committee (NEC), as well as other party stakeholders across the country.
“The NEC is the second highest decision-making organ of the party. Therefore, all of us seated here who are members of NEC are bound by the decision we made last year as a commitment to Mr President.
“That is the reason why the National Working Committee, in its wisdom, decided to waive screening for Mr President so that we can maintain the dignity of NEC, the dignity of the National Working Committee and the dignity of all party members who overwhelmingly endorsed Mr President. To us, this is a commitment to the party and to the Nigerian people”.
On why the party believes that President Tinubu deserves a second term, the National Chairman said; “Some people may ask why the party is overwhelmingly saying Mr President deserves a second term. We all know that Nigeria was at a crossroads, especially economically. The fiscal pressures we experienced at a point made many believe the economy would collapse and infrastructure would decay. The international community also had doubts about Nigeria’s economy.
“But today, Mr President is implementing reforms that many leaders only used as campaign promises for years. We are not merely campaigning; rather, we are making real changes in this country.
“Today, governors have seen the impact of the reforms — more funding to local governments, more funding to states and more funding to other organs of government. To us, this is a huge success for the country.
“Secondly, infrastructure is no longer decaying. Mr President is building infrastructure that will support the projected $1 trillion economy.
“We are seeing what is being done with the ports. The ports are being modernised and reformed. Mr President is also building railway infrastructure from Lagos to Kano and to Maradi, with Maradi expected to serve as a dry port that will support import and export activities”.
The APC boss further enumerated some of the other notable achievements of the administration of President Tinubu”.
“We have road infrastructure development, including the construction of one of the longest roads in Nigeria’s history — over 1,000 kilometres from Badagry to Sokoto.
“I watched a video on social media yesterday where some young men recorded kilometres of the new road corridor. That corridor will support over 300 dams for irrigation and agriculture, boosting food production and making the corridor one of the largest food production belts in Nigeria for both local consumption and export.
“The AKK gas pipeline project is also progressing. People are showing videos of the AKK project transporting gas from Ajaokuta through Abuja to Kaduna and Kano. The facilities connected to those gas lines will support power plants from Abuja to Kaduna and Kano”.
He also claimed that the country now has a better power supply than ever before.
Among those in attendance at the submission were: Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) and Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma.