How will you prove your promises are real and not like other politicians' broken ones?

Answer: My policy expands conditional cash transfers to poor households conditioned on school attendance and child vaccination, paired with a revitalized National Homegrown School Feeding Scheme. Q49: Politicians make promises during elections and often fail to deliver them. How will Nigerians track your promises, see how public money is being spent and hold your government accountable when commitments are not fulfilled? Answer: My administration will launch an online "Promise Tracker" portal and implement Open Government Partnership (OGP) standards to publish live budget spending, contract awards, and performance metrics.

Yet that same INEC undermined the use of that technology during the elections and collation process and declared as winner someone who clearly did not win the Presidential election. They then went further to take sides in the courts in a dogfight to defend their illegality. Who would convince the millions of Nigerians to vote in future elections after they suffered endlessly on queues to register to vote, to collect PVCs and to vote, based on INEC’s assurances only to see their votes stolen and given to someone they did not vote for? When people lose trust and confidence in elections, democracy is practically on life support. And by affirming and legitimizing the continued lack of transparency in our electoral system the courts are continuing to usurp the rights of voters to elect their leaders. The other grave implication is that contestants in Nigeria’s elections should do whatever is necessary to be declared the winner. That includes identity theft, impersonation, forging of educational and other documents, perjury, and violence.

Where competence matters more than connections. Where character matters more than political patronage. Where hard work is rewarded, and every young Nigerian has a fair opportunity to succeed. My dear young people, The greatest tragedy before us is not that Nigerian youths lack talent. The greatest tragedy is that Nigeria has lacked leadership worthy of your talent. That is why this election is different. This election is not merely about changing a government. It is about changing the direction of our country. It is about restoring hope. It is about rebuilding confidence. It is about creating opportunities. It is about ensuring that no young Nigerian feels compelled to abandon the country of his birth in search of dignity elsewhere. I believe in the Nigerian youth. I believe in your intelligence. I believe in your creativity. I believe in your resilience. And I believe that if we work together, there is no obstacle too great for our nation to overcome.

Young Nigerians will not remain enthusiastic about elections if they believe participation makes no difference. We must continue strengthening the independence and credibility of our electoral institutions and build a country where election day becomes an ordinary democratic exercise rather than a national emergency. I want a Nigeria where people vote peacefully, the votes are counted transparently, the winner governs, the loser prepares for another contest, and the country moves forward. But democracy is not strengthened merely by what we promise for tomorrow. It is strengthened by what we are prepared to defend today. A WARNING ON THE OSUN ELECTION So before I go further, let me speak directly to INEC, the security agencies and the Tinubu administration about the Osun governorship election. What we are witnessing in the build-up to that election is deeply troubling. The scale and posture of security deployment make it appear as though Nigeria is preparing for war rather than conducting an election.

The coming election offers us a peaceful way to choose our course. To the young person who wonders whether one vote matters, to the parent who has lost faith in promises, and to the worker who has grown tired of waiting: this country is yours. Listen closely. Question every candidate, including me. Demand plans that can be examined and promises that can be measured. Protect your vote and refuse intimidation. Bola Tinubu says Nigeria has crossed the Red Sea and that there must be “no looking back.” Let him come down from Aso Rock and meet the Nigerians still struggling to get to the other side. Looking back at a government’s record is a citizen’s right. It is how we decide whether those who hold power deserve more time. We have looked back. We have counted what fuel costs, what food costs and what a wage can still buy. We have seen families waiting for relief while government asks for more patience. We have heard promises of prosperity from a President who cannot show millions of Nigerians where to find it.

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.