…alleges opposition arrowhead of supervising failed privatisation of govt properties
…vows never to disobey lawful court orders
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, President Bola Tinubu has alleged that the opposition elements were planning to intimidate him but vowed never to give up his resolve to build the country.
The President, who accused the opposition elements in the country of failing in their efforts to privatise government businesses when they were in power, also vowed never to disobey lawful court orders.
Tinubu said this on Thursday at a meeting with the Renewed Hope Ambassadors led by the Imo State Governor and the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) at the Presidential Villa.
Urging his guests to give the people hope and not relent in the task of nation building, the President said, “They want to scare me off? It’s a lie. I’ve been through this path before, and if I have to come back over and over and over again, I’ll do the same thing. There is no better place than your own country, and no one can build it except you.
“We saw great things because we saw skyscrapers, we wondered how the plane takes off and flies from one destination to another. These are no magic of yesterday.
“It is thinkers of tomorrow and the future that can elevate life; that can reform us all, and being a transformative leader that you are, you are in good company. Don’t be afraid.”
“I’ve listened to you, this economy, I didn’t have to look back, because the truth is, I took over from myself. The late Buhari is me. He was a partner. if I took over from him, is that not from myself? Yeah, so if something is wrong, fine, live with it, correct it, move on.
“The life voyage is not going to be easy. And so many of you who are travelling with me, I can only stand before you and say you will not regret it. That is why we ask you to renew their hope.
“If they don’t want to see the hope and the roads, in the bridge, and the children we raise, and the economy we are growing, we lend them jiggy polar.
“We give them eyeglasses. I can assure you, whatever you say, I do. But one thing that you need from me is a promise that I won’t run away from their fight. With you, the deal is done.
“And all I can promise is that I won’t give up. During the primary that got me here. It was tough during the election. It was tough.”
Commenting on one of the arrowheads of the opposition elements and his roles in the past administration, the President said, “If you look at one of them, no one without history among this Calabash: no one without history. The head was the chairman of the Privatisation Council of Nigeria.
“In this country, one time, he privatised the steel industry in Delta. Is it working today? No one privatised. Is it working today? They privatised another man’s political party. That one says no.”
The President told his guests that his administration was a lifetime opportunity “to break the shackles of poverty, ignorance, to put freedom in the hearts of our people, to ensure democracy survives not the noise-making, not the rascality of a street convention.”
“We cannot submit to disobedience of a lawful order of a court. We have the judiciary, whether it favours us or it doesn’t, we submit to this principle of democracy, separation of powers and understanding of the dynamics of it and the nationhood that Nigeria is.
“That we must build one country. There’s no other way to the path that we embrace to national greatness other than to build one nation, one common vision for progress, prosperity of our people. That’s what we must do.”
In his comments, the Imo state governor said the initiative was designed to drive national renewal by translating the policies and achievements of the President into clear, relatable messages at the grassroots level, thereby deepening public understanding and engagement.
