President Bola Tinubu on Sunday said the economic reforms pursued by his administration have been painful not only for ordinary Nigerians but also for him personally, adding that he has lost sleep and weight alongside citizens bearing the burden of the reforms.
This was as he accepted the All Progressives Congress presidential ticket for the 2027 election.
Addressing party leaders and supporters at the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja immediately after being declared winner of the APC presidential primary with 10,999,162 votes, Tinubu said he shares in the collective anguish of the nation in the past three years of sweeping fiscal and economic reforms.
He said, “I know what it takes to reform this nation we met in tatters. If you lost sleep, I’ve lost some too. If you’ve lost weight, I’ve lost some too.
“But I’ve always remembered one thing: in 2022, I asked for this job. You all supported me and I got it. So I must do it.”
Accepting the nomination, he said, “I accept with profound humility and gratitude the nomination of our great party, the APC, to stand again as your presidential candidate in the 2027 election.”
He said he had watched the primary exercise unfold on television after casting his vote in Lagos on Saturday morning, describing the scenes across the country as a source of personal inspiration.
“I was glued to the television after voting. I saw the mammoth crowd in Kano and Kaduna, the city boy walking the streets of Calabar.
“It was a good feeling to see that there was no bloodshed, no rancour. This is politics in earnest. This is where we want Nigeria, facing one focus,” he said.
Tinubu polled 10,999,162 votes against his sole challenger, Stanley Osifo, who scored 16,503 in the direct primary conducted across all 774 local government areas and 8,809 wards nationwide on Saturday.
