How can proposals to fight election abnormalities and corruption be submitted directly to you?

As for me and my party this phase of our work is done. However, I am not going away. For as long as I breathe I will continue to struggle, with other Nigerians, to deepen our democracy and rule of law and for the kind of political and economic restructuring the country needs to reach its true potential. That struggle should now be led by the younger generation of Nigerians who have even more at stake than my generation. So, let me make a few proposals that I believe will help. We can urgently make constitutional amendments that will prevent any court or tribunal from hiding behind technicalities and legal sophistry to affirm electoral heists and undermine the will of the people. Our democracy must mean something; it must be substantive. Above all, it must be expressed through free, fair and transparent elections that respect the will of the people. Firstly, we must make electronic voting and collation of results mandatory. This is the 21st century and countries less advanced than Nigeria are doing so already. It is only bold initiatives that transform societies. Secondly, we must provide that all litigation arising from a disputed election must be concluded before the inauguration of a winner. This was the case in 1979. The current time frame between elections and inauguration of winners is inadequate to dispense with election litigations.

The Anambra State governorship election next weekend is one in the number of off cycle elections according to the country’s election timetable. But, rather than being like any other, the election to elect the next governor of Anambra State on November 8 offers a unique opportunity to end the era of poor governance in the state in addition to ensuring that the ruling All Progressive Congress does not get the chance of practicing its notoriety of snatching and running away with the mandate of the people. The election next weekend calls our consciousness to a moment when we must rally round the candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Nwosu Chima John and Nwobu Geoffrey Ndubisi to lead Anambra State to a new era of prosperity and economic stability. The election is also an opportunity for the electoral umpire under the leadership of Prof Joash Amupitan, SAN to prove to the world that it has turned a new page, and that the integrity of our election would not be sacrificed for the satisfaction of the ruling party.

This afternoon, I met with the Coalition for Democracy Movement, led by Dr. Jibril Shehu Mustapha, who outlined their nationwide structure and commitment to supporting our cause, especially as it’s the move credible and also protecting the votes. I highlighted growing concerns about election manipulation, especially at collation centres, and stressed the need for effective countermeasures, while expressing gratitude for their support and commending their consistency. I assured them that their sacrifices will not be forgotten, and that history will remember their role in defending democracy. -AA

A Missed Opportunity for Transformation. During the 2023 presidential campaign, I presented Nigerians with an alternative vision. Our manifesto proposed a $10 billion economic stimulus programme, a bold, people-centred intervention that would have used the savings from subsidy removal to directly transform the lives of Nigerians. This plan was designed to create millions of jobs across agriculture, manufacturing, technology, and infrastructure. It would have lifted millions out of poverty, provided targeted support to the most vulnerable, and ignited the kind of economic activity that grows the tax base organically. A stimulus of that scale, properly implemented, would have generated far more revenue for government than any tax increase ever could, because it would have been earned from a growing, productive economy rather than extracted from an impoverished, shrinking one. It would have meant that the pain of subsidy removal was temporary, giving way to a period of genuine renewal, renewal of opportunity, of employment, of hope. Instead, Nigerians were given a coastal highway awarded without due process to a presidential buddy. The contrast between these two visions, one centred on the people, one centred on self, could not be starker.

I Have Come to Offer You a Partnership to Build the Nigeria You Deserve. I greet you in the unbreakable and unconquerable spirit of the African Democratic Congress! Before I begin, let me ask the young people in this hall a simple question. If you were applying for a job today and submitted a certificate bearing one date, while another version of what purports to be the same certificate carried a different date and different signatures, what do you think your prospective employer would do? They would ask you to explain yourself. They might even reject your application. Yet today, serious questions remain about the exact certificate President Bola Tinubu presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission. One version reportedly says June 22, another June 27; questions have also been raised about the signatures and the description of the degree. I am not asking you to accept my conclusion. I am asking something much simpler: if a young Nigerian would be required to explain such discrepancies before getting an ordinary job, why should the man seeking Nigeria’s highest job be exempt from the same standard?

Wa alaikumu salaam, and welcome. I'm glad to have you here. This platform, Ask AA, is one I have built as a public information portal, a place for Nigerians to engage with me directly on government policies and initiatives. It will grow into a Presidential Promise Tracker, where you can monitor the promises I make, follow how they are being implemented, and see exactly how public funds are being spent. That is how we build transparency and accountability at every level of government, not by asking you to take my word for it, but by laying the record open for you to examine yourself. I see you, and young Nigerians like you, not as a restless population to be managed or mobilised only at election time, but as the greatest national asset this country has ever produced. The innovators, the farmers, the creators, the engineers, the doctors, the teachers, the entrepreneurs, the artisans, you are the ones proving every day what the Nigerian spirit can do.