The Director of Strategic and Communication of the Bola Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, in Abuja, said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is not concerned about cash and carry or container economy, but for something more enduring for Nigerians.
Alake noted that the economy, security and the vision of a particular presidential candidate to deal with them, would, however, influence voting decisions in the elections. He said that Nigeria needs a leader with vision, knowledge, and courage, which he said Tinubu possesses, added that this places his principal ahead of other candidates.
Alake stated: “There is no gainsaying the fact of all the candidates competing for votes to solve these problems, Tinubu stands far ahead of the competitors.
“In terms of track record of performance as a governor, in terms of leadership, social engineering, mental development, Tinubu is an embodiment of all the leadership qualities for a country eager to develop.”
He emphasized that while he was Lagos State Governor for two-terms, Tinubu left records yet to be beaten and built the Lekki Free Trade Zone and a new city – the Atlantic City out of the Atlantic Ocean.
Alake further said that Tinubu turned the Bar Beach around and saved it from ocean surge.
“While the then Federal Government was sand-filling the ocean, literally pouring sand worth billions of naira into the ocean, Tinubu conceived a permanent and enduring solution, we travelled to South Africa, we went to the Netherlands and found a solution that today, led to the Atlantic City,” Alake said.
Alake said that he cannot deny the groundswell of frustration among Nigerian youths that led to the emergence of the third force movement that has thrown up Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
This, he said, was the driving force of Obi’s popularity on social media, adding that the feeling was natural and the pent-up anger real.
According to Alake, “as Nigerians, we all had opinions on how things should be or ought to be, this was what was being aggregated on social media.”
He dismissed Obi’s rising profile and popularity in the polity, saying that social media would not determine the outcome of 2023 general elections.
Alake had stated that “the population of the social media warriors will not necessarily translate into votes, especially among rural dwellers, whoever is basing Obi’s popularity on social media, has missed it.”
He boasted that the APC presidential campaign council would deal with the Obi issue when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) gives the go ahead for the campaign to commence at the end of September.
He was of the view that Tinubu cannot be compared with Obi, noting that Obi’s social media supporters are in it for entertainment, not because they are committed.
“If you put all the antecedents of the candidates on a table, Obi will trail far behind the others.
“There is no basis for comparison between Obi and Tinubu, the difference is clear. It’s like that between the fluke and the substance,” Alake said.