The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has appealed to Nigerians, youths and the business community to join hands with him to secure the country’s future through vibrant economy his administration will bring if elected come 2023 election.
Newsonline reports that Tinubu stated this on Tuesday during his town hall meeting with the Business Community and Organised Private Sector at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The former Lagos State governor said he wants to replicate what he did as governor of the commercial capital of the country at the Federal level.
“You may have heard that I was once governor of this dynamic economic force. However, may I remind you that when I first entered office, Lagos was a different story.
“My team and I developed a blueprint, a master plan, for Lagos. I can say that plan has been largely successful,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu added that with vibrant economic team he formed as Lagos governor he turned the state in choas when he took over in 1999 to a safe and more prosperous state.
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The APC presidential candidate said the ease of doing business environment he created as governor was responsible for the triving Lagos.
“We turned this state into a safer, more prosperous place where people can go about any legitimate vocation or venture regardless of their ethnicity, religion, region or prior social station.
“We did more than open Lagos for business. We opened the door for all Nigeria to join and experience the decent things progressive democratic governance can bring.
“We were not perfect but we did a lot,” he said.
He further added, “In doing so, we worked hand in hand with the business community as partners sharing the same goals of prosperit and renewed hope.
“Well, as you might have heard at some point recently, I now stand before you, seeking a bigger yet similar job.”
Bola Ahmed told the business community that the country though faced with many problems has many untapped opportunities and greatness potentials, which if elected, will turn the country from a consuming economy to a productive economy.
“Nigeria stands at the threshold between indifference and greatness, prosperity and poverty, the future and the past,” he said.
He told Nigerians that “the door is ajar. Together, let us open it so that we may cross over to the better side and secure for this beloved nation its finer destiny.
“The productive and beneficial things we seek do not lie in the sole domain of one sector. They reside in the cooperation between government and the private sector.
“I see no conflict between the business community and government. Yet, with equal conviction, I believe the private sector and government should constantly be at war.”
Tinubu further stated, “From its very inception, our political economy has been imbalanced and in need of major reform. Our political economy is much too dependent on the export of raw material or unfinished goods and the import of increasingly expensive finished products.
“Over the course of time, gains from natural resource exports will prove largely insufficient to meet the rising costs of imports let alone support even the most basic demands of modern democratic governance.
“The time is now to cure this lapse. And time is of the essence for it does not wait for man or nation.
The APC candidate said the president, Muhammadu Buhari has performed well in reviving the economy of the country.
He, however, said he is coming to make the development and needed change farther and faster.
“We commend the work of prior administrations, especially the present government. This government has performed with patriotism and commitment during trying times.
“We simply must go farther and faster. My experiences in both the private sector and elective office afford me a special appreciation of the economic potency that close collaboration between the government and the business community can bring,” Tinubu said.
Present at the Town Hall meeting was vice-presidential candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima, Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Simon Bako Lalong who is also the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku Bagudu, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, Abubakar Badaru, Dapo Abiodun, Adegboyega Oyetola, Nasir El-Rufai and Abdullahi Ganduje as well as other party leaders and chieftains.
Others from the business community were the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, Jim Ovia, Chairman of Zenith Bank, Tony Elumelu, Chairman of UBA, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, former Chief Executive of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, Group Chief Executive of Access Bank and other business leaders representing sectoral groups such as agriculture, Oil and Gas, Trade, Manufacturing, creative Sector among others.
