President Bola Tinubu has told members of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council not to expect him to accompany them to every campaign event ahead of the 2027 general election, saying he must remain focused on governance and the country’s economic responsibilities.
Tinubu spoke on Wednesday at the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja. He urged its members to take the party’s message to Nigerians across the states and local government areas while he continued to attend to matters of governance.
The President said he agreed that campaign demands should not distract him from running the country, adding that Nigeria needed his attention.
“You’ve warned me not to allow the rigour of the campaign to distract me from governance. I hear you, and I am in full agreement with your decision. Nigeria needs more attention now,” Tinubu said.
He asked council members to excuse him from joining them at every campaign event, noting that his administration had bills to pay and international financial obligations to meet.
“So, you will excuse me from going everywhere with you. We have bills to pay. The American creditors cannot wait,” he said.
Tinubu also said the government needed to attract investors willing to make long-term commitments to Nigeria and contribute to the future of the country’s children.
“We want those investors to come in, be here to stay and invest for the future of our children,” he said.
The President assured Nigerians that he would continue to engage with them directly, even as the campaign council led mobilisation across the country.
“However, I will still make time to speak directly with Nigerians, even as you lead the campaign in the states and local government areas,” he said.
Tinubu described the council’s inauguration as more than a campaign activity, saying it represented a renewed commitment to Nigerians and the responsibilities entrusted to the ruling party.
“We have not gathered merely to inaugurate a council. We have gathered to renew a covenant—a covenant with the Nigerian people and the historic responsibility they have entrusted to us as Nigeria’s governing party,” he said.
He said the council was expected to take the administration’s vision, record 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,” Tinubu said.
The President also commended APC members for completing the party’s congresses, recalling that some had predicted internal crises during the process.
He said the party had overcome the challenges and emerged united, crediting members for participating from the ward level to the national leadership.
“They said there would be an implosion. We passed through it. We did not fail. You didn’t let us down. We got here together,” he said.
