President Bola Tinubu has explained why he will not be joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council on its tour of all states and local government areas ahead of the 2027 elections.
Tinubu said governance will not take a backseat to campaigns, stressing that the responsibilities of his office cannot pause for electioneering.
He spoke on Wednesday at the State House, Abuja, while inaugurating the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).
“The responsibility of this office does not pause. The job must go on. We have bills to pay. The American creditors cannot wait. We want those investors to come in, be here to stay, to invest for the future of our children,” the President said.
Tinubu said while he would still create time to speak directly with Nigerians on his administration’s achievements and development agenda, the task of coordinating campaigns in states and local government areas would be handled by the Council.
“I will still make time to speak directly with Nigerians, even as you lead the campaign in the states and local government areas. So you will excuse me from going everywhere with you,” he said.
According to him, the country requires sustained attention to pressing national priorities, including meeting financial obligations and attracting investors to support economic growth.
The President said the inauguration was a renewal of the party’s covenant with Nigerians and declared that the APC was ready for the 2027 elections.
“We have not gathered merely to inaugurate a council. We have gathered to renew a covenant, a covenant with Nigerian people and the historic responsibility they have entrusted to us as Nigeria’s governing party. We promise we will not let them down,” he said.
He urged members of the Council, led by Director-General Sen. Abdulaziz Yari, to take the party’s vision, record and development agenda to every corner of the nation, and charged APC governors and lawmakers not to take previous electoral efforts for granted.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was witnessed by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, governors and other party leaders.
The APC Presidential Campaign Council is set to kick off its presidential campaign in Kaduna on October 24.
