The presidential aspirant under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has vowed to end banditry in Nigeria if elected as President.
The former Lagos State Governor made the promise on Saturday during a South-West Youths rally organized for him at the Mobalaji Johnson Stadium in Onikan, Lagos.
Newsflash Nigeria had earlier reported that a large number of South West youths Saturday gathered at the Mobolaji Johnson stadium, Onikan, Lagos, to show support for the presidential aspiration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In January, Tinubu formally announced his intention to contest the 2023 presidency.
Tinubu, 70, stormed the stadium in the company of Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat and other leaders of the APC.
The APC National Leader said the drive is to create a Nigeria that many citizens are dreaming of. A violence-free and prosperous country.
“A united Nigeria is our dream,” Tinubu said. “A free Nigeria is our commitment. A violent-free Nigeria, a banditry-free Nigeria. A very successful Nigeria. We promise you, we will hand it over to you. You are our tomorrow.”
He also asked the youths of the country to support his ambition, promising to work for them.
“I want to be President for you,” he said. “Drive me there. Commit yourself. Enough of excuses, enough of bitterness, enough of disunity. All we have to do is to be a United Nigeria of Africa.”
The former Lagos governor advised the youth to work towards building a new nation that would have limitless opportunities and possibilities.
Tinubu said the youths cannot be on social media platforms like Instagram while they lack permanent voter cards (PVCs) to elect the leaders of their choosing.
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Tinubu said: “I am here, not for myself, but for you and our collective future which our youths represent. We feel your anger whenever you are angry; I will never blame you for that. The promises of the past have not done enough to help you build a future from the onset.
“But, I disagree with the excuses that we cannot help it; we can help it. All you need is courage, determination and perseverance. You must develop a can-do attitude; you must have the grit and determination to change the story of poverty and banditry.
“We cannot continue the lamentation of the past. We have to brace up for a new Nigeria. You have to be ready for the task ahead. If you have no voter card, go and get it. If you have it, go for a revalidation of your card.
“You cannot be part of 1.4 billion youths using Instagram and have no PVC to vote. The youths are the reason why I am here to contest. I want to be president for you all; commit yourselves to this project and drive me there.
“All we have to do is to build a united Nigeria. When we started in Lagos, we used to pick up dead bodies on the streets. Today, Lagos is one of the most progressive States. We can build a new Nigeria, where prosperity will not be isolated and limited to the family of the poor. A united Nigeria is our dream, a free Nigeria is our commitment and a violence-free Nigeria is what we promise we will hand over to you.”
The youth group declared and pledged support for Tinubu, whom they described as a “contender with a clear vision and high capacity”.
In response, Tinubu described the support rally as “massive”, saying he would show gratitude for the endorsement by working hard to positively change the story of the country for young people.
