“I thank you deeply for your support and confidence in me. I will not let you or the people of Nigeria down”
Ismail Omipidan, Romanus Ugwu and Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has promised Nigerians that he will not betray the confidence and trust reposed in him if re-elected the president in the 2019 presidential election.
Buhari made the promise during his acceptance speech as the 2019 presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), during the ruling party’s national convention at the Eagle Square, Abuja.
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Justifying while he deserves a second term in office, he rolled out multiple achievements in the areas of security, economy, infrastructural development and anti-corruption fight, and also, said electricity generation has hit 8000 megawatts.
“…I would like to pay tribute to Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande the first chairman of our great Party and to Chief John Oyegun, who led the party until this year and all the APC governors.
“Fellow party members, it is with a deep sense of humility that I stand before you to accept the nomination of our party, the APC, to be its candidate and flag-bearer in the 2019 presidential elections.
“I accept this honour as a tribute and mark of confidence to carry the responsibility as we all join hands to continue the good work of the APC government to 2023 and beyond.
“We are very proud of our record from 2015 to date. We have arrested and checked the slide to anarchy on the security and economic fronts. Boko Haram is reduced to dastardly attacks on soft targets. Normalcy has returned to much of North East and neighbouring North West states.
“Our currency has stabilised. Our reserves are now $44 billion, a lot higher than we had in 2015. Power generation capacity has reached 8,000 megawatts against less than 4,600 when we came into office.
“We are executing Independent Power Projects in nine federal universities, to deliver uninterrupted power supply and we intend to expand to 37 universities. We have revived most of our capacity to produce fertilisers locally.
“The government, through its Anchor Borrowers Programme, and other incentives, has empowered more than two million farmers to go back to the land. We now produce 80 percent of our rice requirements. Many farmers who nearly lost hope are now millionaires. We have introduced primary school feeding programmes to encourage attendance and enrolment. We also have introduced the Conditional Cash Transfer to help small and medium businesses, the men, the women and young people who drive our economy.
“We have repaired and are repairing major arterial roads and starting major railway projects with the aim of linking the 36 states with efficient road and rail transportation systems….
“Think how much PDP governments earned between 1999 to 2015. Think what they did with it. Infrastructure down! Security down! 18 local governments of Nigeria under control of a hostile army of insurgents, Reserves depleted! Bankruptcy around the corner.
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“What did they do with your money? Internationally, Nigeria is now respected. My interaction with foreign heads of state and government has been very encouraging. The international community is very supportive of our efforts to put our country in order. I thank you deeply for your support and confidence in me. I will not let you or the people of Nigeria down.
On to victory in 2019!” he rounded off.
President congratulates winners, consoles losers
The president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said Buhari has congratulated winners of All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries across the country, and has also, urged losers to show the spirit of sportsmanship by accepting the outcome without bitterness or resentment.
“In every competition, someone has to win and someone has to lose, but those who lost should not abandon the party or lose their enthusiasm for the advancement of the party.”
He advised politicians to learn from several aspirants, including Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State “who, despite his loss, didn’t abandon APC for another party because he was angry over the outcome of the governorship primaries.
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“The larger interest of our party is greater than our individual ambitions, and we should, therefore, work together for its success, despite our losses. In politics, we shouldn’t lose hope permanently because tomorrow could present another opportunity for us to contest again and win,” the president said.