Former Bauchi State governor, Isa Yuguda, has said it would amount to blasphemy for Nigerians to reject the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as a special gift from God to them.
According to him, as a governor of Lagos State, Tinubu ensured justice and equity in the state considered as a mini Nigeria because it houses the most sophisticated Nigerians and human beings on earth.
Yuguda stated this during the second edition of a symposium organised by the APC Professional Forum in Abuja on Wednesday.
The former governor said, “If he (Tinubu) was able to manage that state with heterogeneous society and made it possible for them to come together to leave in peace, promote interactions and incentives for growth and development.
“Every Nigerian must believe that God has already identified him for us. He will turn Nigeria into what he did in Lagos. We can see those qualities in him, especially being able to relate to every part of human society.
“As a highly experienced politician, we need him in the country today. He has the capacity as a politician to manage Nigeria. Asiwaju is a sincere man who wants to make an impact”.
Also at the event, wife of the APC presidential candidate, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, assured that her husband will give women 35 percent representation at all tiers of government if he is elected the next president of Nigeria.
Oluremi assured that her husband will build on the current administration’s social intervention programmes, with greater emphasis on empowering women and youth towards lifting more families into collective wealth and prosperity.
She noted that the Tinubu administration would work with the National Assembly to promote greater representation of women in government’s ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
She said, “Our goal is to have at least 35% female representation at all levels of government. We will also work towards progressively improving on the number of female lawmakers at state and national levels.
“I am a woman, and I am a beneficiary of Asiwaju’s commitment to empowering womenfolk. Although I have always been passionate about charity work and I invested greatly in women and youth development as First Lady of Lagos State, it was with the support of my dear husband that I was able to also take on political leadership roles.
“We need to institutionalize female inclusion and representation in politics and governance; this is Asiwaju’s pledge to the women of Nigeria.”
Mrs Tinubu further said the Tinubu/Shettima presidency would focus on empowering Nigerian teeming 70 million youths through job creation and entrepreneurship support efforts and policies.
Her words: “As a mother, I know that one of the biggest challenges youth face is the fear of tomorrow with its uncertainties. This often leads them to take poorly considered risks and make bad decisions.
“As parents, it is our job to create the right environment for our wards to flourish, to grow in self-confidence, to learn to be self-sufficient, responsible, and useful members of society. This is also a key responsibility for the leadership of the nation.
“To this end, the next APC-led administration will address the issues by: Increasing opportunities and channels for easy access to credit to start businesses. The incoming administration will work with and encourage commercial banks to provide and set aside a quota of their projected credit provisioning for youth-led enterprises at appreciably low-interest-rate loans.
“We will encourage the creation of Innovation and Productivity Hubs for youth to present their ideas and have same reviewed for marketability and utility. These hubs will generate business idea validation reports which will be used in partnership with commercial banks to vet loan applications.
“Commercial banks will also be encouraged to ensure their loan application processes are simplified and that they give greater priority to young people and women with marketable ideas. This will be implemented across the federation.
“The incoming Tinubu/Shettima administration will create opportunities and channels for business mentorship for youth. The initially mentioned Innovation and Productivity Hubs will serve as incubators for intergenerational business mentoring.
“Also, the administration will seek the cooperation and volunteer services of 2 million entrepreneurs and professionals across the nation to work with young people over the course of its tenure.
“We believe this foundation will lead to critical thinking, structured reasoning, accountability, and positive personal development. These salient ingredients will empower the youth in finding employment, honing job skills and creating businesses.”
