APC presidential standard-bearer Bola Tinubu has suggested that President Muhammadu Buhari did not do enough to clear the “dirt” of corruption, kidnapping for ransom and other “rubbish” plaguing Nigeria since the party assumed power in 2015.

Describing himself as a vacuum cleaner, Mr Tinubu, a former Lagos governor and national leader of the ruling APC, stated that Mr Buhari tried to sweep Nigeria’s “dirt” (an allusion to many ills bedevilling Africa’s most populous nation, particularly corruption at high places and widespread insecurity).

In the build-up to the 2015 presidential poll, the APC promised to sweep out corruption and insecurity, but Mr Tinubu said, “All of us, as Nigerians, we’ve seen leaders. Some of you were not born when those leaders came. But new leaders came from 2013 to 2014; in 2015, (they) swept the dirt. But the dirt is still left on the ground. We need to sweep more. Then, I applied to be a vacuum cleaner so we can clean the dirt.”

Mr Tinubu stated this at a rally, with Mr Buhari present, in Sokoto on Thursday.

“We thank God and Aliu Wamako for making Sokoto APC. We thank President Buhari. Sai Buhari! We thank them. We promise we will work hard. We will eliminate corruption,” added the APC presidential candidate. “We will drive away madness called kidnappers. We will do hard work, clean Nigeria of rubbish.”

Mr Tinubu, since he began his campaign, has condemned some of Mr Buhari’s policies, especially the naira redesign policy, with his political ally Governor Nasir El-Rufai vowing that if elected, Mr Tinubu would reverse some decisions regarding the policy.