The pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, has described the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, as the most saleable candidate in the race. He, however, urged him not to underestimate the candidates of opposition parties ahead of the 2023 election.
This is even as he expressed optimism that the February 25 polls will be a walkover for the former Lagos State governor.
Ribadu, who doubles as the Director of Stakeholder Relations for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, gave the warning at the official inauguration of the 132-member directorate of the council.
The inauguration ceremony, which took place at the PCC campaign office in Abuja, was officiated by a former Osun State governor and former interim national chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande.
While stating that Tinubu would win the presidential election with a landslide margin, going by the level of grassroots work done so far, the former anti-corruption tsar, however, cautioned that no candidate should be taken for granted.
He said, “We should not underrate our opponents. We should work assiduously to make the margin of winning too wide that the victory will be massive and sweet. Luckily for us, our job is cut out for us. We have the most saleable product in the market today. There is no one candidate out there that is better than our own.
“Asiwaju Tinubu is an accomplished human being and a thoroughbred administrator and maverick politician. He has something to show from his glowing antecedent, he will not learn on the job.
“He also has a wide network of friends and associates everywhere in Nigeria, which makes our job of outreach very much easier. Though this election is literally a walkover for us, we should not leave anything to chance.”
While urging the 132 members of the directorate to work harmoniously as one family in an atmosphere of cordiality, Ribadu explained that they were drawn from various fields of human endeavours.
Meanwhile, the vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Kashim Shettima, has said the party’s flagbearer, Bola Tinubu, deserves commendation for transforming the old Bar Beach into the Eko Atlantic City.
Shettima, who spoke at a symposium on ‘Asiwaju’s Manifesto’ in Abuja, disclosed that the beach had developed a notorious reputation for harbouring spiritualists and herbalists who performed all manners of sacrifices along the shores.
Shettima said, “Thirty years ago, you would see babalawo sacrificing black cows along the shores of the Atlantic Bar Beach. But because of the quality of somebody’s ideas, here we have the Eko Atlantic City that will give accommodation facilities to 250,000 Nigerians. I spent a night in that edifice and it was amazing.”
“When I first got a job in Lagos in 1999, I had to beg my mother for two weeks before she allowed me to go. By then, the fear of Lagos for an average northerner was the beginning of wisdom. Before she allowed me to go, they had to assemble a crowd of marabouts to pray for my safety.”
