President Bola Tinubu on Friday promised Nigerians a better future, pledging development, education, skills acquisition and jobs.
Speaking at an All Progressives Congress (APC) rally at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Tinubu urged residents, especially youths, to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and vote for continuity in 2027, saying his administration was determined to break the cycle of poverty and drive economic growth.
Tinubu said Nigeria had moved away from the risk of fiscal collapse under his administration, while acknowledging that the reforms had imposed hardship on many citizens.
“It was difficult; it was hard. It was hard for me, too,” he said.
“I don’t know the pain of the market, but I share your pain, I share your difficulty,” the president said.
Tinubu defended the removal of fuel subsidies and other economic policies, saying Nigeria had emerged from a “dark tunnel” of uncertainty and potential bankruptcy.
He claimed that 27 of the 36 states’ governors had been unable to pay salaries when he took office, and said his administration had restored fiscal stability.
“When I took over, 27 governors out of 36 of this country were unable to pay salaries, not to talk of pension and gratuity,” he said.
“Today, I can say that we are out of that tunnel,” he added.
The President said Nigeria would not return to fuel subsidies, comparing the country’s economic transition to the biblical journey of Moses and the Israelites across the Red Sea.
He argued that reversing the reforms would undermine the progress made so far.
He also defended the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), saying it was intended to reduce the burden of tuition on parents and expand access to higher education.
Tinubu pledged that recovered corruption proceeds would be channeled into the loan fund.
A central moment of the visit came when Governor Umo Eno appealed for federal approval of the Ibom Deep-Sea Port, which he described as critical to the state’s economic future.
Tinubu responded: “On behalf of the people and leadership of Akwa Ibom, the Governor requested the Ibom Deep-Sea Port. It’s approved.”
The announcement drew sustained cheers from supporters.
Tinubu said the port would generate economic value and accelerate development in Akwa Ibom.
Eno had earlier pledged that the state would deliver more than two million votes for Tinubu in the 2027 election, tying the port request to the President’s re-election campaign.
Tinubu used the rally to criticise former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
He questioned their leadership credentials and urged voters to support continuity.
“Obi ran away from erosion in Anambra, and he will now want to be president? President of where?” Tinubu said.
He also criticised Abubakar for leaving his former party, saying: “Will you give such a person an opportunity who has no leadership quality, no sense of responsibility?”
The President urged young Nigerians to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), describing the document as their “sword” and the instrument through which they could shape the country’s political direction.
Tinubu described the visit as a homecoming, recalling his early career with Mobil Oil and an assignment auditing the company’s operations in Eket.
He said his connection with Akwa Ibom dated back to that period.
“Akwa Ibom and I have been united ever since then,” he said.
At a reception at the Ibom Palm Resort, the President praised Governor Eno for reclaiming 73 acres of erosion-degraded land for the resort, describing the project as evidence of purposeful leadership.
The rally was, however, overshadowed by an accident along Oron Road in Uyo.
An Akwa Ibom State Transport Corporation (ASTC) bus conveying women to welcome the president collided with a security Hilux van as it headed toward the airport.
Eyewitnesses said one person was feared dead, while several others suffered serious injuries.
Footage shared online showed emergency responders and bystanders attempting to remove injured passengers from the wreckage.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) confirmed that it had dispatched a response team to the scene.
However, Paul James, the Command’s Public Relations Officer for road-safety operations, said authorities had yet to determine the full extent of casualties or the circumstances surrounding the collision.
