To support Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the party’s presidential candidate, and Senator Kashim Shettima, his running mate, a thunderous crowd, comprising thousands of APC supporters, descended on Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, on Saturday.
Due to his extraordinary accomplishments, which were built upon by his successor, Professor Babagana Zulum, Shettima, who served as governor of Borno State for two consecutive terms between 2011 and 2019, had a sizable following in the state.
Tinubu and his team of the Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, were at the Shehu of Borno’s Palace as a first point of contact. They were accompanied by the National Chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and the governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Abubakar Badaru, who represented the Director General of the Campaign Team, Governor Simon Lalong.
In his speech, His Eminence, Dr. Abubakar Garbai Ibn Umar El-Kanemi welcomed the APC Presidential Candidate and his entourage for their visit and prayed for a successful election and smooth, credible, peaceful, and successful campaigns.
The royal father, however, claimed that the visitors’ presence was a sign of respect for the traditional Council and called for increased security and provision in addition to the rehabilitation of basic federal infrastructure, including federal roads, electricity, the Lake Chad Basin Authority, the resumption of oil exploration at the Lake Chad Basin, and, if given the authority, the hiring of a sizable number of unemployed youths.
Before leaving for the rally location, Tinubu thanked the Traditional Ruler for his blessings and promised, if elected president, to pay close attention to the traditional institutions all around the nation.
The Jigawa state governor asked attendees to support Tinubu/Shettima and all other APC candidates in the upcoming general elections on Saturday, February 25, 2023.
Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate, promised to lead a true government of the people by the people and for the people if won in next Saturday’s election while addressing the enormous crowd at the Elkanemi Sports Centre in Maiduguri.
He reaffirmed his promise to lead an administration that will manage the affairs of the nation with grit, honesty, and accountability.
“I want to express my gratitude to the Borno people for coming out in such large numbers to welcome us. I pledge to lead a real government of the people, by the people, and for the people if I am chosen as your president.
“I would lead a government that managed the affairs of the nation with a commitment to hard labor, honesty, and accountability.” said Tinubu.
Abdullahi Adamu, the national chairman of the party, also expressed his happiness at the state’s residents’ attendance at the event.
“Nothing, other from God’s will, would deprive us of victory in the election,” Adamu stated, expressing confidence in the party’s capacity to win the election.
It’s payback time for the people of Borno State, according to Governor Babagana Zulum and political powerhouse Ali Modu Sheriff, for Tinubu’s selection of Kashim Shettima as his running mate.
Sheriff recalled how Tinubu assisted him in winning his 2007 attempt for a second term as governor. Sheriff claimed that no Nigerian loves Borno more than Tinubu.
Tinubu would “uphold the trust the people of Borno will invest in him by choosing him president next Saturday,” said Governor Zulum.
Senator Shettima, the vice presidential candidate, expressed gratitude for the strong turnout in his speech.
In addition, he promised that, if Tinubu were to be elected president, the long-dormant and much-discussed oil exploration along the lake Chad Basin would be revisited and made a reality. In his view, resuming oil exploration in the area would not only generate income but also open up job opportunities for the teeming youths and women in the state and the North East subregion.
In his opening remarks, the State APC Chairman, Hon. Ali Bukar Dalori, gave Tinubu the assurance that Borno voters would support APC candidates from top to bottom on Saturday, April 25. He cited the advancements made by the former governor Shettima and his successor, Governor Zulum, in the areas of agriculture, education, health, and poverty alleviation, among others.
The peaceful rally was attended by the governors of Kano, Yobe, Jigawa, Gombe, and Nassarawa states, Abdullahi Ganduje, Mai Mala Buni, Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar, Inuwa Yahaya, and Abdullahi Sule; the deputy governor of Borno State, Hon. Umar Kadafur; the speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan; and several party veterans, including former governors
