‘Nigeria Needs More Attention’: Tinubu Tells APC Campaign Council to Mobilise Without Him
President Bola Tinubu has directed members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council to lead the party’s mobilisation efforts ahead of the 2027 general election, saying he cannot attend every campaign event because of his responsibilities as president.
Tinubu made the statement on Wednesday in Abuja while inaugurating the APC Presidential Campaign Council, urging members to take the party’s message to every state and local government area as he concentrates on governance and the economy.
The president said the demands of the campaign must not interfere with his duties, noting that Nigeria needed his attention at a critical time.
“You’ve warned me not to allow the rigour of the campaign to distract me from governance, I hear you. I am in full agreement with your decision. Nigeria needs more attention now,” Tinubu said.
Explaining his decision to limit his participation in campaign tours, the president pointed to the country’s financial commitments, including obligations to foreign creditors.
“So, you will excuse me from going everywhere with you, we have bills to pay. The American creditors cannot wait,” he said.
Tinubu also stressed that attracting investors prepared to establish long-term businesses in Nigeria remained important to the country’s economic future.
He said the government wanted investors who would remain in the country, create opportunities and contribute to a better future for the next generation.
“We want those investors to come in, be here to stay, to invest for the future of our children,” the president added.
However, Tinubu assured the campaign council that he would still engage directly with Nigerians, even as its members coordinated campaign activities across the country.
“However, I will still make time to speak directly with Nigerians, even as you lead the campaign in the states and local government areas,” he said.
The president described the inauguration of the council as a renewed commitment to Nigerians, rather than merely a step towards the next general election.
According to him, the council has a responsibility to communicate the administration’s vision, record and policy agenda to voters across the country.
“We have not gathered merely to inaugurate a council. We have gathered to renew a covenant. A covenant with Nigerian people and the historic responsibility they have entrusted to us as Nigeria’s governing party,” he said.
He added that the council would be responsible for taking the party’s message to Nigerians and working towards electoral victory in 2027.
“This council will carry our vision, our records and our agenda to every Nigerian, and it will carry them to victory every ward of this country,” Tinubu said.
The president also praised party members for completing the APC congresses, dismissing concerns that the process would lead to a major internal crisis.
He said the party had successfully navigated the process and remained united, commending members for their participation from the ward level through to the national leadership.
“They said there will be implosion. We passed through it. We did not fail. You didn’t let us down. We got here together,” he said.
