*By Buhari’s decree, ex-Lagos gov will be next president, says Adamu
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has said the mining sector would play key roles in his administration’s determination to resuscitate the country’s economy.
Tinubu stated this yesterday during a town hall meeting with mining and agro-processing stakeholders in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital, yesterday.
The APC presidential candidate, in a statement by his Media Aide, Mr. Tunde Rahman, noted that his campaign for the nation’s number one seat would only be issue-based, centered on bringing prosperity to the nation.
“We shall allow the desperate, devoid-of-substance campaigns of others engage in divisive identity politics and the promotion of untruths and ugly rumours.
“We, the APC, shall continue to stand before the Nigerian people to discuss the real issues of the day and offer insight into the policy solutions, we intend to deploy to solve them. In this, we remain the best and only hope for progressive good governance in Nigeria,” he said.
Tinubu stressed that few nations were as endowed as Nigeria, given the industrious, energetic population and vast inventory of the land, water and natural resources, saying Nigeria has abundant, commercially viable solid mineral deposits such as coal, limestone, iron ore, bitumen, lead, zinc, gold and a variety of gemstones.
The former Governor of Lagos State noted that it was the obligation of government to use those gifts wisely to benefit the nation and improve the living standards of the average Nigerian.
On his plans for the sector, Tinubu promised to make the Ajaokuta Steel Company fully operational again, saying, “My administration will ensure the full completion and operation of the Ajaokuta Steel Company under a viable Public-Private Partnership structure.”
The presidential hopeful noted that the sector would contribute more to the nation’s economy by building the GDP.
His words: “We seek to turn this economy into a more active engine of growth, productivity, jobs and income. We seek to establish a broad-based economy that ensures broadly-shared prosperity for all. Solid minerals and mining will play key roles in our campaign toward prosperity and our economic offensive against poverty and underdevelopment.”
Also, the National Chairman of APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has told Tinubu to get ready to assume the presidency of Nigeria in 2023, saying, he was merely echoing President Muhammadu Buhari’s statement.
“Except God, President Buhari is the highest authority in Nigeria today. Buhari has said it and it shall come to pass,” Adamu said, as he urged voters not only in Nasarawa, but also in the adjoining states to vote massively for the party and its candidate.
Earlier, the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdulahi Sule, said Tinubu’s engagement with the mining community would also afford the opportunity to know the economic potentials of state in mining and agricultural.
The governor listed 20 solid minerals in commercial quantity in the state, which included lead, gold, Barite, marble, and zinc, among others.
Director General of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) and the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, described the town hall meeting as another worthy engagement between APC Presidential candidate and critical stakeholders in Nasarawa State after similar events in Kano, Lagos and Niger States.
He noted that Nasarawa was the home of huge solid mineral deposits that have remained untapped with attendant insecurity caused by illegal miners, while assuring the people that Tinubu as next President of Nigeria would squarely address the matter during his tenure.
“Tinubu is a man with untainted records of solving challenges. We are lucky he is ready to serve our country at this time,” Lalong said.
