***Shifts Campaign Load to Yari-Led Council
President Bola Tinubu has dropped a startling hint that he may not hit the road across Nigeria in his bid for re-election, declaring that the burden of governing cannot wait.
Speaking at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council at the State House Banquet Hall, Aso Rock, Abuja, on Wednesday, the President said he had been warned not to let the grind of campaigning pull him away from running the country.
“You have warned me and asked me not to allow the rigour of the campaign to distract me from governance. I hear you. I am in full agreement with your decision,” he told the council, led by Senator Abdulaziz Yari.
Then came the line that stunned the room: he would not be able to visit every state and local government area.
“Nigeria needs more attention now than ever before. The responsibility of this office does not pause,” Tinubu declared. “So you will excuse me from going everywhere with you.”
The President promised not to vanish from the public eye, vowing to make time to speak directly with Nigerians even as the council fights the battle on the ground in the states and local governments.
He cast the event as far more than a ceremonial gathering.
“We have not gathered merely to inaugurate a council. We have gathered to renew a covenant,” he said, invoking the “historic responsibility” the people have placed on Nigeria’s governing party.
Tinubu charged the council with carrying his administration’s vision, achievements and agenda to voters nationwide.
“This council will carry our vision, our records and our agenda to every Nigerian, and it will carry them to victory in every ward of this country,” he said.