Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has described the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as capable of deepening and fine-tuning ongoing reforms to make Nigeria a prosperous nation.
Bamidele made this remark in a congratulatory message by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs in Abuja on Monday, pointing out key achievements and reforms that the President had recorded within three years.
Tinubu recorded a landslide victory in the primary conducted nationwide, securing 10.99 million votes on Saturday compared to 16,503 polled by his sole challenger, Mr. Stanley Osifo.
In his statement, Bamidele celebrated Tinubu’s emergence as APC presidential candidate in the just concluded primary election, having secured 10.99 million votes from party members.
He said: “I am therefore confident that your candidacy will help to fine-tune ongoing reforms across all sectors of the country and make us a prosperous nation. Your track record shows that you are an agent of change.
“You became President when Nigeria’s economy was at its lowest ebb. You didn’t shy away from taking tough decisions. Rather, you prioritised critical actions to secure future generations.
“You took the bull by the horns and confronted the problems head-on. This decisiveness has sparked economic progress in virtually every facet of our national life. No state is borrowing just to pay salaries any longer.
“At the same time, you have turned the country into a construction site, with the ongoing 750-kilometre Lagos–Calabar Coastal Road Project, the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto–Badagry Highway, and other strategic road infrastructure projects that will connect different cities in the North and South.
“Your administration has introduced the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) to boost access to tertiary institutions across the federation. In three years, no fewer than 1,197,626 students have registered with NELFUND, 3,138,390 loan applications received, 1,613,132 institutional loans processed and 1,525,528 upkeep loans paid. At least N242 billion has been disbursed to tertiary students since the scheme took off.
“From 1.273 million bpd in April 2023, President Tinubu has provided strategic leadership that increased oil production to 1.71 million bpd. Also, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, reserves increased from $35.09bn in June 2023 to $49.49bn in May 2026.
“Under his administration, Nigeria’s economy has consistently grown—2.74% in 2023; 3.4% in 2024; 3.9% in 2025 and 3.89% in the 2026 first quarter. So much has been done to reform and transform Nigeria. A lot more will still be done with the emergence of President Tinubu as the standard bearer of the APC.”
“In my capacity as the Leader of the Senate, I assure you of at least 10 million votes from the South-West geopolitical zone of the country. The machinery to deliver those votes is already in motion,” he said.
Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Office of the Senate Leader, The Senate (The Red Chamber), Federal Republic of Nigeria.
