I’m your only route to national cake – Tinubu tells Igbos

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has told the people of Southeast to vote for him because he is the only route to the “national cake.”

Mr. Tinubu spoke during a campaign rally in Enugu on Wednesday.

“Only if you invest you can harvest. Only if you choose me, you will share from the national cake,” he said.

‘I will create an industry, a South East manufacturing hub’

The APC candidate also promised to create an industrial and manufacturing hub in the south-eastern part of Nigeria if elected president in 2023.

He said that this will be part of the plan to develop the Southeast region and create thousands of jobs for the youth and all residents of the region.

“If you elect me as president, we will work together. We will create industrial hubs in Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, Abia and Anambra States.

“We will make Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, Abia and Anambra States and the entire South-East a regional business hub, a manufacturing center of Nigeria. It is very possible,” said Mr. Tinubu.

The APC candidate also said the South-East is blessed with “tremendous resources and agricultural power” that can propel the economic recovery of the region.

He said he would develop mineral resources such as coal to drive recovery in the region.

“Assembly plants can be made into a growing business. You just need to partner with the federal government.

“Don’t wait for the white man to do this job for us. We are brilliant enough, we are good thinkers, we can create, we can develop and we can mold; we can build machines and we can convert coal for industry.

“Let’s use what we have to develop our country. Let’s turn coal into money. Let gas be money. We can have an agro processing center. We have over 200 million people to feed. We will not starve to death,” he said.

Nigeria agenda

The former Lagos State Governor said Nigeria is blessed and will use the country’s resources to develop and bring back Nigerians who travel abroad for greener pastures.

The APC candidate said he has spent more than 17 years abroad and those who still travel outside the country are only suffering.

He described his candidacy as a “moving train” prepared to win the general election in 2023, stressing that any attempt to resist the moving train would be disastrous.

“You cannot block the way to success. Only fools will stand in the way of victory,” said Mr. Tinubu.

In separate remarks during the rally, Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State and his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodinma, called on the people of the South-East to vote for the APC candidate to “reintegrate the South-East into national politics.”

Residents’ reaction

Chukwudi Nwankwo, a resident of Enugu State, told PREMIUM TIMES that he is not satisfied with Mr. Tinubu’s promises to the people.

Mr Nwankwo said he was disappointed that his running mate, Kashim Shettima, did not attend the rally to show his commitment to the South-East.

“A few years ago, they were shouting about change, but Tinubu did not talk about change. I told my brother that I wanted to be here to hear what Ndigbo had to say. I refused to be told. But I was disappointed,” he said.

Another resident, Ephraim Egwu, described Mr. Tinubu’s promises as “political gimmicks” usually used by politicians to win over voters.

Mr. Egwu said he will fulfill his promise to make the South-east an industrial hub, but it is hard to trust someone who has failed to fulfill the same promise before.

“We are familiar with this promise. These people promised heaven and earth during their campaign, but when they succeeded, they rejected us.

“Tinubu is just trying to get votes in the South-East. But no one will vote for him based on these gimmicks,” he said.