The All Progressives Congress has accused opposition parties of unfairly trolling its presidential standard-bearer Bola Tinubu. The APC claimed that its “renewed hope” message resonated well with Nigerians ahead of Saturday’s presidential election.

“We worked very hard to stay on issues. But the opposition elements constantly assailed Senator Bola Tinubu with ridiculous, unsubstantiated and often fabricated allegations,” said Dele Alake, special adviser on media and strategic communication to the APC Presidential Campaign Council.

“All in futile bid to derail our campaign, in spite of all the evil machinations of the opposition, we remained focused on our message of prosperity that will ride on the achievements of the current APC government. With strong determination by Tinubu and Shettima to improve on areas that require greater and better governance outcomes,” Mr Alake added while addressing a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja to round off the party’s presidential campaign.

He said the party’s grand rally in Lagos was a fitting conclusion to a presidential campaign that started on January 10, 2022.

From that moment, 14 months ago, he stated, Mr Tinubu began a “painstaking” and “arduous journey” of reaching out to a cross-section of the civil populace and constituency holders in Nigeria.

“This he did through a nationwide consultation ahead of his party primary. He met with former leaders, traditional rulers, religious leaders, party stakeholders and members across the country and intimated them about his vision, capabilities and readiness to serve our country,” Mr Alake explained.

According to him, the APC PCC and Mr Tinubu “redefined, set new tone and template for presidential campaign in Nigeria,” and “our campaign introduced townhall interactive sessions into this campaign to take our message directly to the people across various sectors and segments of the society.”

He added that the town hall sessions became specialised focus group sessions to connect with the people almost one-on-one.

“Beginning from mid-October, with his acceptance of the invitation by Northern leaders under the umbrella of the Arewa Joint Committee. Tinubu and Shettima conducted over 15 town hall meetings around the country,” Mr Alake told journalists. “They met with the organised private sector, youth groups, traders and market women, Labour Unions, Christian Association of Nigeria and other Christian bodies, Islamic groups and leaders.”

(NAN)