In phone conversation with Blinken, Tinubu speaks on asylum in US during Abacha regime

Bola Tinubu, president-elect, says he will hit the ground running from the moment he is sworn in officially as president of Nigeria.

In a statement on Wednesday, Tunde Rahman, aide to the president-elect, quoted his principal as making the remarks in a telephone conversation with Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, on Tuesday evening.

Tinubu said he would work to deliver institutional reforms and development programmes to deepen the country’s democratic institutions and bring help to the poor and vulnerable.

He also spoke about going on exile to the US during the regime of Sani Abacha, former head of state.

“During the talks that lasted about 20 minutes, President-elect Tinubu spoke about his long and eventful sojourn in America, recalling how he was granted asylum by the US when, due to his determined struggle for democracy in Nigeria, he was forced into exile by the late General Sani Abacha’s military junta,” the statement reads.

Tinubu said the result of the just concluded elections reflected the will of the Nigerian people.

On his part, Blinken said without national unity, security, economic development and good governance, Nigeria would not become a better place to live in or play its role in the comity of African nations.

The US secretary of state said his country would play its part in bringing a sustained and cordial relationship between the two nations to fruition, adding that a democratic and peaceful Nigeria is important to the US as it is to Africa.