With barely 72 hours to the presidential convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party’s national leader and frontline presidential aspirant, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Thursday opened up on how he worked to ensure Muhammadu Buhari’s victory during the 2015 presidential elections.
The former Lagos state governor also went memory lane on how he ensured the emergence of Professor Yemi Osinbajo and Mr Dapo Abiodun as vice president and Ogun state governor respectively.
Tinubu spoke Thursday at the Presidential Lodge in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, at a meeting with the state’s APC delegates ahead of the party’s primary holding Monday.
On his entourage were Lagos state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Kano state Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and former Borno state governor, Senator Kashim Shettima.
Though a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos state under Tinubu’s watch as governor, Osinbajo is from Ogun state, a reason the governor recently endorsed him for the nation’s top job.
The former governor’s position may have come against the backdrop of the recent plea by President Buhari that the governors allow him pick his successor.
The president’s position which has been receiving hard knocks from some party stakeholders is a semblance of consensus, an arrangement Tunubu has consistently kicked against.
The current national chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu emerged via consensus.
On the party’s platform to seek its presidential ticket are 23 chieftains who were all screened Monday and Tuesday, with the John Odigie-Oyegun-led committee asking them to commit to the consensus arrangement.
The convention holds at the Eagle Square in Abuja.
Tinubu
Speaking on how he worked for the emergence of Buhari and his deputy, Osinbajo, the former lawmaker said it’s the turn of the Yoruba to lead and that he’s the one.
Addressing the delegates in Yoruba language, with Governor Abiodun seated, he said: “You have not heard this from me before. This is the first place I am saying this.”
“If not for me that led the war front, Buhari won’t have emerged. He contested first, second and third times, but lost. He even said on television that he won’t contest again.
“But I went to his home in Katsina, I told him you would contest and win, but you won’t joke with the matters of the Yorubas.
“Since he has emerged I have not been appointed minister. I didn’t get nor request a contract. This time, it’s Yoruba turn and in Yorubaland, it’s my tenure,” he declared in an emphatic tone.
Continuing his trajectory of history, the APC national leader said: “Since the time we started with the Action Congress, Action Congress of Nigeria, and now the All Progressives Congress, I had wanted to contest for president that time.
“This is me telling you between me and God Almighty, Buhari called me to be his Vice President. He said because the first time he contested, he picked Okadigbo, flamboyant, catholic, but Nigerians didn’t vote for him.
“The second time, he picked another Igbo, Ume-Ezeoke (Edwin, former Speaker, House of Representatives), Nigerians didn’t vote for him, that if he goes to bring the Pope to run as his vice, Nigerians won’t vote for him, “but you, Bola Tinubu, you have six governors, you have never lost an election before, come and be my vice.
“He knew all the calculations then favoured us, that was why he wanted me as his vice, but I told him to let us build the party first. And when we finished building the party after we brought in people from the PDP, Saraki now saw that those from the PDP will not get anything if Buhari, a Muslim becomes the president and me, also a Muslim becomes his vice, he won’t get the senate president and the senate president cannot also be a Muslim, that was how they started the campaign of calumny against me.
“And I told them that I have a candidate that is a Christan that I can nominate so that the party will not break, that was how I nominated Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. I surrendered my right to him (Osinbajo).
“I was asked to submit three names, Yemi Cardozo, Wale Edun, and Yemi Osinbajo, but I told them if I submit three names, they will play a game, they may make it four and pick the fourth one. I gave them one name and that was Osinbajo.”
He also told the delegates why he’s best qualified to succeed Buhari. From the array of South-west presidential aspirants.
“It is my time, I’m educated, I’m experienced. I have been serving people for a long time, bring me the presidency, it is my turn,” Tinubu further declared.
On Governor Abiodun
On the current Ogun state governor, Tinubu also said without God and him, Abiodun would not have emerged governor in 2019.
Pointing to the governor, he said: “Dapo that’s sitting down here, could he have become governor without me? We were at the stadium, they tore all his posters. Even the party flag, they didn’t want to hand over it to him, I was the one who brought it.
“If he wants to meet God at the right place, he must know that without God and me, he would not have become Governor.”
Biodun responds
Responding, Governor Abiodun acknowledged the sagacity and political prowess of Tunubu whom he described as a “political warrior, serial winner and strategist.”
However, rather than a straight endorsement, Abiodun told the aspirant and members of his entourage delegates from the state would do “the right thing” at the convention.
Ex-Lagos gog urges reconciliation in Oyo
And during a similar visit to Ibadan, Oyo state capital, Thursday, Asiwaju Tinubu asked the party’s governorship candidate to commence reconciliation and harmonise different tendencies within the party.
Tinubu stated this in Ibadan while addressing 99 APC delegates from the state.
The APC national leader said governorship election is not a child play, hence the need to visit the aggrieved party leaders’ houses, even at midnight, to reconcile and forge unity ahead of the general elections.
The presidential aspirant said Senator Teslim Folarin “has to work, walk and that APC leaders in the state should help him to pacify all aggrieved members for the party to come out victorious in 2023 general elections.
Asiwaju Tinubu assured the APC delegates and party leaders present that he would come back on behalf of Senator Folarin to talk to the aggrieved members on the need to sheath their sword.
Speaking further, Asiwaju Tinubu declared that he would be coming back to Ibadan to raise the hands of Senator Folarin as the state’s APC governorship candidate.
Lawan names Kalu campaign DG
In a related development, the Ahmad Lawan Campaign Organisation has announced the Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu as its Director General.
The appointment was contained in a statement issued to that effect in Abuja Thursday by media team of the campaign group.
Also, chairmen and vice chairmen of strategic committees set up were also announced.
The chairmen of the eight committees are Finance and Budget headed by
Auwal Lawan with Senator Sani Musa as co-chair, Strategy and Planning headed by Senator Ikechukwu Obiora with Senator Betty Apiafi as deputy chair, and Contact and Mobilization chaired by Senator Barau Jibrin, while
Senator Peter Nwaoboshi is the deputy.
The rest are Media and Publicity committee led by Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi with Femi Fani Kayode as deputy chair, Security and Intelligence is headed by Mallam Lawal Daura with Commodore Mohammed as deputy chair, while Senator Bello Mandiya and Hon. Hillary Bisong are chairman and deputy chairman respectively of the Transport and Logistics committee.
Also, Prince Mustapha Audu chairs the youth groups and Hon Aisha Ismail the women groups.
The statement further said the Kalu-led campaign team “is expected to strengthen the campaign organization and build a stronger cohesion that would deliver All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket to the Senate President during the presidential primaries, and ultimately lead him to victory in the general election.”
Sanwo-Olu, Ngige, Ganduje, others chair convention c’ttees
Meanwhile, the APC Wednesday released the list of chairmen/persons of subcommittees to organise the national convention to elect the party’s presidential candidate.
After several postponements, the party finally fixed its presidential primary for June 6-8.
The list, as released by the APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka, has most governors heading the subcommittees.
Gombe state Governor Muhammed Inuwa Yahaya chairs the committee on budget, with Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning Mrs Zainab Ahmed as co-chair.
While Lagos state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu will chair the committee on finance, his Ogun counterpart, Dapo Abiodun heads the accreditation and decoration committee.
Also, the duo of Ondo state Governor Rotimi Akeredulou and former interior minister, Lt.Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau(retd), are to chair the committee on security and compliance.
The list also showed Kebbi state Governor Atiku Bagudu and Imo state Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo state as co-chair of the election planning committee.
Kano state Governor Abdullai Umar Ganduje chairs the transportation committee with FCT Minister of State Ramatu Aliyu providing necessary support.
The duo Borno state Governor Babangana Zulum and his Osun state counterpart, Gboyega Oyetola, take charge of accommodation, with their Nasarawa counterpart heading the media and publicity committee.
Similarly, Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige, and a former minister of health, Isaac Adewole, will co-chair the committee on medical, while Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, SAN, heads legal committee.
The party also saddled Zamfara state Governor Bello Matawalle and FCT Minister Mohammed Bello with the responsibility of venue and site servicing, with Yobe state Governor Mai Mala Buni leading the committee on election appeal.
Also, the party named Plateau state Governor Simon Lalong and Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Sadiya Farouq as co-chairs of hospitality and welfare committee.
The committees on protocols and digital communications are chaired by the duo of Katsina state Governor Aminu Masari and Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara state respectively.
The committee on pre-convention/management/ rapporteur is co-chaired by Kaduna state Governor Nasir El-Rufai and Minister for Women Affairs Pauline Tallen, while the presidential screening appeal committee has Niger state Governor Sani Bello and Deputy Speaker House of Representatives as co-chairs.
Besides, there is a committee on accreditation of diplomats to be chaired by Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama as co-chair.
