Tinubu meets with south-west Muslim leaders, promises ‘honest’ governance if elected

Bola Tinubu, standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says he will be fair and just if he’s elected president.

Tinubu said this on Sunday at a townhall meeting with south-west Muslim leaders, in Ibadan, the Oyo capital.

He described the forthcoming 2023 elections as “Nigeria’s momentous encounter with destiny”, and urged the religious leaders to educate their followers on the importance of exercising their right to vote.

“This election season has been a hybrid of facts and falsehood, truth and lies. I would like the election to be one based on facts and truth,” Tinubu said.

“What is a candidate’s record of performance and what are his policies? I ask you to urge your followers to come out and vote and to do so wisely.

“Vote for a candidate that has vision for a peaceful, prosperous Nigeria, where tolerance and compassion undergird our constitutional and legal rights.

“My pledge for fairness and justice is consistent with the tenets of Islamic faith.

“A leader in a plural society like ours is enjoined to be a leader of all. If elected, I shall govern in a honest and democratic manner in harmony with our nation’s constitution.”

The former Lagos governor also said if elected, his administration will diversify the country’s economy towards achieving growth.

Tinubu also promised to guarantee food security in the country through enhanced productivity and improved farming income.

“Regarding the economy, we seek to repair the very structure of the economy. We can no longer flourish as an economy based on natural resource extraction,” he said.

“We must become a dynamic, diversified economy where those who want to work can find a good job, but let us also be a society sufficiently compassionate to help those who cannot help themselves.

“We must revive manufacturing and industrial growth so as to create jobs as well as produce the goods and services that improve the daily lives of the average person.

“We seek a minimum of six percent growth annually through reform of our industrial policy, infrastructural enhancement, power sector innovation, and significant budgetary reform.

“In the end, may no Nigerian parent send a child to bed hungry, despairing what tomorrow might bring. Instead, let all of our children, regarding of their faith or creed, be able to lay their heads down believing in a better tomorrow of hope renewed.”