•‘Let Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso wait for their time’
The National Chairman of Tinubu/Shettima Network (TSN), Dr. Kailani Muhammad, has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will shock his major rivals in the 2023 general election.
Muhammad said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP), and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) will get the shocks of their lives in next year’s presidential poll.
Asiwaju Tinubu, the TSN boss stressed, is the best person to succeed President Muhammad Buhari next.
Muhammad spoke yesterday in Abuja at the swearing-in of the national officers and state coordinators of TSN.
He said Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso do not have the type of high calibre profile of Asiwaju Tinubu in the national political space, adding that they should wait for their time, if they wish to rule the country.
The TSN boss urged Nigerians to vote for Asiwaju Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, in 2023, and shun violence before, during, and after the general election.
“Asiwaju Tinubu is a man of vision. He’s charismatic. He has the wit and political network across the country. That’s why electing him to become the next President of the country would be good for all and will eventually open doors for greater things to happen in the country,” Muhammad said.
He recalled that the APC presidential candidate developed a long-term vision as well as an all-inclusive government that reflected a mini-Nigeria when he was governor of Lagos State.
The TSN boss said the APC candidate turned around the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) from millions to billions and started a development plan that his successors have been building upon to turn Lagos into a modern mega city.
According to him, the improvement in the state’s IGR has made it financially independent among the 36 states of the federation.
Muhammad said TSN, a rejuvenation of the Voters Guard and Awareness which, in 2015 and 2019, ensured victory for President Muhammadu Buhari with about 12 million votes, would also mobilise for the votes that would ensure that Asiwaju Tinubu and Senator Shettima become President and Vice President next year.
TSN also said the election of Tinubu/Shettima would place the country on the path of development and heal the wounds inflicted by the annulment of the Abiola/Kingibe election of June 12, 1993 that was adjudged the freest ever in Nigeria.
Muhammad said: “The TSN structure presently is deeply grass-rooted in all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), senatorial district, local government areas and wards across the country. We are assuring this gathering and Nigerians in general that we are strategically positioned for a vibrant result–oriented outcome, more than we recorded in 2015 and 2019.
“By the special grace of God Almighty, our efforts will not be in vain. We shall put in every effort and ensure that all hands are on deck to register election success and ensure that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima are sworn in as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and Vice President in 2023, In shaa Allah (God permitting).
“Already, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has set out guidelines on how the 2023 campaign into elective positions would be conducted.
“The rules are clear and political parties are expected to comply with the guidelines by adhering strictly to the laid-down rules and regulations.
“Imperatively, President Muhammadu Buhari has done creditably well in administering the country and by allowing the electoral umpire to provide the needed impetus for a successful election.
“President Buhari has equally done well in achieving giant strides, particularly in the areas of infrastructural development, roads, healthcare delivery, good governance and in ensuring peace and general security returning to the most insecure areas of Northeast that are suffering from the menace of Boko Haram and, of recent, the Northwest, which has been ravaged by kidnappings for ransom, banditry and terrorism. The Buhari administration has been up and doing.”