President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has pledged that his administration would not marginalise any part of the country.
The former Lagos State governor who spoke on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at the commissioning of the Raumuokwuta/Rumuola flyover bridge in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, promised that his administration would leave legacy projects across the length and breadth of Nigeria.
This is as he commended Governor Nyesom Wike for standing for justice and insisting that it was turn of the south to produce a president after Muhammadu Buhari.
Tinubu, who is an All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, described Wike, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor, as a dependable ally. He said Wike’s principled stand for a southern president led to his victory on February 25.
He was declared winner of the presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 1 and is expected to take the oath of office on May 29.
Tinubu told the crowd he went through a “gruesome campaign, fought hard and won.”
He said he could not have achieved victory against major opponents like PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party (LP)’s Peter Obi without structural support from people like Wike.
“Your Excellency, Governor Nyesom Wike, you are very dependable,” he said.
“Nyesom, I say thank-you for your contribution to my victory. I couldn’t have done it without some structural support. In His Excellency, I see a man of principle. He (Wike) took a principled stand that the presidency must return to the South and he has the courage to stand by his conviction not minding whose ox is gored. He is, in deed, a man of great integrity; he did not choose to serve his own interest, not about him. Rather, the interest of the nation. You promoted unity, you promoted fairness, you championed justice. Thank you. There were so much gossips and speculations, but you stood your ground.”
Meanwhile, Tinubu, has defended free speech on social media, as he dared his critics to continue saying whatever they like on various platforms online.
Tinubu who revisited what he called a banter with the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, over the cost of flyovers constructed in Rivers, t explained that he could not make any commitment to refund the cost of the flyovers until he was sworn in as the President. He insisted that his reason for telling Governor Wike this was not to start an argument but to avoid making promises he couldn’t keep.
He acknowledged that the exchange between himself and Wike had generated a lot of reactions on social media. However, he stated that there was no name he had not been called on social media, but he does not respond to social media criticisms.
He said, “I exchanged a banter with Gov Wike, if you take me seriously, (it’s left to you). The truth is, I’m a President-elect. I have no signature for expenditure until sworn in. How can I make a commitment? I cannot sign a dime of Nigeria money or expenditure now. There can only be one president at a time.
“If you ask me to go and commit to things that are mere expectations and cannot be fulfilled, I believe in fulfilling promises, that’s why I’m here. And we have to do it for Nigeria. I thank you all for the support you gave me during the election, but I’m still on a countdown.
“If I sign anything for you now and commit to it, I can’t pay. For that flyover, how can I pay, personal? That’s not realistic.
“I hope that clears the social media fears. I don’t respond to (social media talks). There is no name they’ve not called me on (social media). It’s a free speech society and around the world.”
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