All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu has told residents of the southeast to vote for him because it is their only route to the “national pie”

Tinubu spoke during his campaign rally in Enugu on Wednesday.

“Only when you invest can you reap. Only when they vote for me will they share in the national pie,” she said.

“I will turn the Southeast into an industrial and manufacturing center”

The APC candidate also promised that he would create industrial and manufacturing hubs in south-eastern Nigeria if he were elected president in 2023.

He said that this would be part of his plan to develop the Southeast and create thousands of jobs for the youth and all the inhabitants of the region.

“If you elect me as your president, we will work together. We will create industrial hubs in Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, Abia and Anambra states.

“We will turn Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, Abia and Anambra states and the entire south-east into a regional commercial hub, the manufacturing hub of Nigeria. It is very possible,” Tinubu said.

The APC candidate also said the southeast was blessed with “incredible resources and agricultural power” that can fuel the region’s economic recovery.

He said he would develop mineral resources such as coal to boost recovery in the region.

“You can create assembly plants with flourishing businesses. All you need to do is partner with the federal government.

“Don’t wait for the white man to do this job for us. We are bright enough, we are big thinkers, we can manufacture, we can develop, and we can mold; we can build engines and we can turn our coal into industry.

“Let’s use what we have to develop our country. Let’s turn our coal into money. Let’s turn our gasoline into money. We can have agro-processing centers. We have more than 200 million people to feed. We are not going to starve,” she added.

The former governor of Lagos state said Nigeria was blessed and would use the country’s resources to develop it and bring back Nigerians who travel abroad in search of greener pastures.

The APC candidate said that he had spent more than 17 years of his life abroad and that those still traveling abroad were only suffering.

He described his candidacy as “a moving train” that was poised to win the 2023 general election, stressing that any attempt to resist a moving train would end in catastrophe.

“You cannot block the path of success. Only the ignorant will stand in the way of victory,” said Mr. Tinubu.

In their separate remarks during the rally, Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi and his Imo State counterpart, Hope Uzodinma, urged residents of the south-east to vote for the APC candidate to “re-integrate the south-east into national politics”. .

Chukwudi Nwankwo, a resident of Enugu state, told PREMIUM TIMES that he was not satisfied with Mr. Tinubu’s promise to the people.

Nwankwo said he was disappointed that his running mate, Kashim Shettima, did not attend the rally to show his commitment to the south-east.

“A few years ago, they were shouting change, but Tinubu no longer talks about change. I told my brother that I wanted to be here myself to hear what he would say to Ndigbo. He didn’t want them to tell me. But he let me down,” he said.

Another resident, Ephraim Egwu, described Tinubu’s promises as the usual “political tricks” politicians use to win over voters.

Egwu said it is possible for him to keep his promise to make the southeast an industrial hub, but it is hard to trust people who have broken similar promises made in the past.

“We are familiar with this type of promise. These people promise heaven and earth during campaigns, but when they are successful, they turn their back on us.

“Tinubu is just trying to get votes in the southeast. But no one will vote for him on the basis of such tricks, ”she said.