2027: Nigeria Needs Fixing Now, I Won’t Attend Every Rally — Tinubu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said he will not attend every campaign rally ahead of the 2027 general election, insisting that Nigeria’s pressing needs require his attention and that governance must continue alongside electioneering.

Tinubu said the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council would take the party’s message to Nigerians across the country while he remained focused on the responsibilities of his office.

The President spoke on Wednesday in Abuja while inaugurating the APC Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 general election.

He said he agreed with party leaders who had advised him not to allow campaign activities to distract him from governance, stressing that the country required greater attention at the moment.

“I hear you. I am in full agreement with your decision. Nigeria needs more attention now than ever before. The responsibility of this office does not pause,” Tinubu said.

Explaining his decision not to tour every campaign ground, the President said the government had financial obligations to meet and needed to attract investors to support the country’s future.

“The job must go on,” he said. “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.”

Tinubu charged members of the campaign council to take the APC’s record, vision and agenda to every part of the country, including wards and local communities.

“Let the word go out from this hall to every corner of our nation. The APC is ready,” he said.

Describing the inauguration as more than the establishment of a campaign structure, the President said the gathering represented a renewed commitment to Nigerians and the responsibilities entrusted to the APC as the governing party.

“We have gathered not merely to inaugurate a council. We have gathered to renew a covenant, a covenant with the Nigerian people and the historic responsibility they have thrust to us as Nigeria’s governing party. We promise we will not let them down,” he said.

The President also warned APC governors, lawmakers and other party leaders against taking previous electoral efforts for granted, saying they must demonstrate their ability to deliver votes in their respective constituencies.

“No one gets credit for an incomplete assignment. So until you deliver the next election, until you deliver your wards, until you deliver the votes, before we can say thank you,” he said.

On women’s political representation, Tinubu pledged support for legislative efforts to increase the number of women in the National Assembly and state-level legislatures.

Describing women as the party’s major mobilisers and voters, he urged them to work towards securing greater representation and assured them of his support for the proposed special seats legislation.

“Women are the greatest mobilisers and voters. And from this hall, I assure you, the sponsorship of the bill,” he said.

“The women deserve seats. Go and work for it, come to fruition. We will increase the number of women’s representation at both National Assembly and sub-national level. I assure you that,” he added.

On security, Tinubu declared that state police would become a reality, signalling his support for the proposed reform of Nigeria’s policing system.

“On security, state police will be a reality,” he said.

The President also commended the APC leadership for conducting party congresses and strengthening its structures from the ward level to the national level, describing the party as increasingly united.

He urged party members to remain determined in their efforts to build the country, recalling measures he pursued as Lagos State governor to address the threat of flooding from the Atlantic Ocean.

“There is no limit to daring. You must dare, you must be determined,” Tinubu said.

He subsequently declared the Presidential Campaign Council inaugurated, tasking its members with coordinating the party’s mobilisation and taking its message to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general election.