The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has described as mere rumour, the claim that he has plan to relocate the Federal Capital from Abuja to Lagos on succeeding President Muhammad Buhari from May 29, 2023.
The denial is contained in a statement issued by the Director, Media and Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Bayo Onanuga.
The presidential candidate described the claim as one of the insidious campaigns sponsored by his opponents.
The statement reads in full:
The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council hereby alerts Nigerians about the latest insidious campaign in some parts of the country against our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
After exhausting their arsenal of calumnies and character assassination against Tinubu, the opposition PDP and their surrogate Labour Party have begun a multi-pronged desperate campaign of falsehoods.
In one of the falsehoods being circulated, especially in the North West of the country, Tinubu is said to harbour plans to relocate the Federal Capital from Abuja to Lagos on succeeding President Muhammad Buhari from 29th May, 2023.
This misinformation campaign, according to field reports, is being given some traction by some elders on the payroll of the Peoples Democratic Party.
We are shocked that some people could contrive such egregious lie, all in the name of politics, with the intention to confuse our burgeoning support base in that part of the country.
Let us say with emphasis, that Asiwaju does not contemplate any such plan and will not do anything that is so ultra-unconstitutional.
The same purveyors of falsehood have also been distorting the commercialization of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited by the APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The truth is that President Buhari has not privatised NNPC as planned by the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Buhari has instead made it a commercial entity, owned by all the tiers of government, in line with the Petroleum Industry Act.
In due course, the company will be in a position to declare and share dividends to all its owners, the way Aramco of Saudi Arabia and Petrobas of Brazil do.
As the destined successor of President Buhari, Asiwaju Tinubu will continue the policy of the Buhari administration. Unlike Atiku, Tinubu has no plan to sell NNPC to his friends or cronies.
However, All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), on Tuesday, unveiled a mobile channel for crowdfunding for the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-Kashim Shettima presidential project ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The QR code-enabled platform was initiated to give Nigerians who believe and share the vision of Tinubu-Shettima presidential ticket to contribute towards realisation of the project.
The APC presidential campaign team targets to raise N5 billion from the crowdfunding platform known as “BlessMi”, launched at the Civic Centre on Victoria Island, Lagos.
Donors can freely donate to the project, using the QR Code. The amount ranges from the least currency denomination to any amount affordable.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, speaking at the fundraiser, described the approach as another “creative way” of using the technology to democratise funding for political activities. He said the mobile platform would offer opportunity to Nigerians supporting APC to be part of the process of forming the next Federal Government.
The Governor said every little contribution received from the channel would matter in funding the APC’s presidential campaign council’s activities across the federation.
He said: “There is no better place to launch this innovative project than Lagos, which is the nation’s hub of innovation and technology. This fundraising effort speaks to our support and those who share the vision of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu-Kashim Shettima presidential ticket to have an input to the realisation of the project. The ticket strongly considers the interest of every Nigerian, regardless of social status or ethnic origin.
“This campaign is about people and people have been asking how they can participate to contribute their own effort to the overall success of the campaign. This is why we used our creative minds and leveraged technology as innovative ways to create access for people towards supporting our party’s presidential campaign. People can donate through their mobile phones and be part of this campaign. Every donation, no matter how small the amount is, will matter and take its proper place.”
Sanwo-Olu maintained that the Tinubu-Shettima ticket represented a pan-Nigerian mandate, noting that the APC candidate remained the most competent of all presidential contenders.
The donations received at the fundraiser were transparently displayed on digital screens, which showed the donors’ names and amount contributed.
APC Vice Presidential candidate, Sen. Shettima said the initiative was aimed at leveraging the nation’s diversity to inflame loyalty in the people.
The former Borno State Governor urged Nigerians to vote for APC, stressing that only the party’s presidential ticket boasted of candidates with practical ideas to move the country forward.
Shettima said the objective of the project was to bring average citizens into the mission of building a better country for the youth and improve lives.
He said: “We have to look beyond the fabulous things happening around and look at somebody that wish to push and elevate the nation to the next level. And with all sense of modesty, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is the best material we have and we need in this nation to stand.
“I urge Nigerians to look beyond sentiment, look beyond the lies that are being peddled and make the best choice for the nation and next year will be a very great opportunity for Nigerians to make the right choice.”
Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, hailed the APC Fund Raising Committee for the initiative, noting that the mobile platform would democratise election funding.
