Cross Udo, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday charged Nigerians and the people of Yobe State to vote for All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as the next Nigerian president.

Buhari spoke at the Damaturu Township stadium during the APC presidential campaign rally where he told the people why they should vote for the former Lagos State governor” because he is the person capable to continue the work of rebuilding Nigeria, I started over seven years ago”.

The President said, “I accompany Asiwaju here to tell you to vote for him so that he can continue with my legacy of rebuilding Nigeria.”

While addressing party faithful who trooped out in large numbers to attend the APC presidential rally in the state, Tinubu, in his prepared speech, said he will use the newly commissioned Yobe cargo airport to boost agriculture in the state.

He also praised Buhari for the airport project and other laudable projects across the country he described as wise investments.

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“The cargo airport Mr. President commissioned yesterday will be greatly needed when our agenda for greater production of agricultural and industrial exports begins to take off.

“It is a wise investment made with courage and foresight.  It will be needed to transport Yobe’s excellent sesame, hibiscus, and gum Arabic, to the rest of the world,” he said.

Tinubu commended the president and security agencies for the success recorded in the battle against insecurity.

After attending the campaign rally of the party in Yola, Adamawa State on Monday, the president proceeded to Damaturu where he spent the night.

At the rally were APC national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, Vice-Presidential Candidate, Kashim Shettima, Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu; Director-General (D-G) of the Tinubu/Shettima campaign and Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, and many party leaders.

Speaking further on agriculture, he said, “Harnessing our agricultural endowment is more than an economic desire.  It is a matter of national security. We need to further guarantee our food security to better ensure social stability and lay the groundwork for even more economic progress.

“We will establish agricultural hubs and irrigation and water catchment systems to assist farmers throughout the nation. Yields and harvests will increase. More importantly, we will encourage value-added agro-processing businesses that will foster greater economic activity creating well-paid jobs and bringing better products to local markets and your family’s dinner table.

“We will invest in the individual small farmer. You will earn a good and guaranteed income through the establishment of Commodity Exchange boards that will ensure an acceptable price for the crops you labour so hard to grow.”

On the investment and tourism opportunities available in the state, Tinubu promised to work with the state government to invest in the exploration of the precious mineral resources found in Yobe State.

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Meanwhile, in an apparent move to ward off allegations of illicit enrichment, Buhari yesterday said he doesn’t have one square inch of property outside Nigeria.

Speaking at a state banquet organised in his honour after commissioning several projects in the state, the president warned that whoever hopes to serve Nigeria must be prepared for the worst.

He recalled his experience leading the country in the last seven-and-a-half years, noting that nobody could blackmail him on inexplicable wealth and illicit enrichment while in office.

Buhari said, “I do not have one square inch outside Nigeria.’’

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the president restated his vow to serve God and Nigeria until his last day in office and beyond.

He advised Nigerians to remain patriotic, saying, “As I said more than 30 years ago, we have no other country than Nigeria, we must all stay here and salvage it together.’’

Noting that the most critical security challenge inherited by the administration nearly eight years ago was the potent and pervasive threat of terrorism, the president expressed delight that normalcy has returned to affected states in North-East Nigeria.

He recounted that the threat was particularly pervasive across the North-East geopolitical zone, with Yobe State as one of the most hit by the terrorists.