Tinubu at Chatham House, talks campaign promises, age, birth

The presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party, Bola Tinubu, has described the upsurge in attacks on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) facilities as cause for concern ahead of the 2023 general election .< /p>

Mr. Tinubu said so in his Monday speech at Chatham House in the UK, where he revealed some of his plans for key sectors if elected president.

He spoke on the topic "The 2023 Elections in Nigeria: Security and Economic Development and its Foreign Policy Imperatives".

Mr. Tinubu said poll security and election violence were major concerns for the country ahead of the February and March elections.

There has been an increase in attacks on INEC facilities, particularly in the South East, South South and South West regions in the recent past.

The attack on the commission office last Sunday in Oru West Local Government Area in Imo State made it the seventh in the past four months.

In total, as many as 50 such attacks have taken place in 21 states in recent years, raising fears about the holding of elections.

Mr. Tinubu said attacks on INEC facilities and violence are the two biggest threats to the 2023 general elections and he was against development.

“Polling security and electoral violence are matters of concern. There is an emerging trend of attacks on electoral commission personnel and infrastructure in some parts of the country. Political conversation on social media has become more laced with violent rhetoric and threats of violence and retaliation against those who oppose it, seen as opposing partition.

“I strongly oppose all forms of electoral violence and intimidation. Having spent most of my career in political opposition, I have long fought against electoral malfeasance and tried to extinguish the legitimacy of the voters' choice. I will continue to do so, I promise," he said.

He also called on his fellow candidates to commit to a peaceful election by allowing voters to determine the country's path.

"I hereby urge all other candidates to do the same. Let the sovereign will of the people decide the course of our nation. And let this election be determined by the voters, making their choice freely, rather than by domineering dominance and unrest,” he said.

Mr. Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State, added that despite concerns, Nigerians are committed to democracy in Nigeria. He said they did so regardless of their political differences.

He added that “Nigeria’s 2023 elections come at a time when the country’s immediate geographic neighborhood of West and Central Africa is undergoing severe political unrest which has manifested itself in the incursion of the ruling army into a number of countries.”

The APC candidate also pledged that, if elected, his administration will commit to energy self-sufficiency through sector reform.

"Energy supply is another priority. There is no version of the world where Nigeria's ambition for itself can be achieved without solving the problem of how to deliver energy to homes and to businesses across the country.

“It is time to recognize that the centralized infrastructure approach to energy policy is not an optimal commitment, and is unlikely to be improved by mere tinkering. as regulator, operator and price setter is a broken model,” he said.

With regard to education, Mr. Tinubu said he would provide student loans and reform the Almajiri system in the north of the country.

He added that he would recruit and train more teachers to boost education.

He said, “There will be student loans. We will reform the Almajiri system. We will also build more schools, recruit more teachers and train them.”

The APC candidate said he...