Tag: tinubu

All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has debunked the speculation that he may be picked by President Muhammadu Buhari as his running mate in 2019.

The Sun reported the story, which Tinubu described as a “classic case of utterly and irredeemably-fake news”.

He said he and the people of the Southwest “have absolute confidence and are exceedingly proud of the excellent job Professor Osinbajo is doing as Vice-President of Nigeria”.

The Sun, in a front page lead story yesterday, claimed that Prof. Osinbajo was considering returning to full-time church work and that Tinubu was being mooted as a replacement for him, according to the newspaper, “as a way to have a solid Southwest support for the APC, in the face of a Southeast/Southsouth alliance in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)”.

But Tinubu, in a statement by his Media Office in Lagos, said there was no empirical or logical basis for the speculative story.

The statement entitled: “Asiwaju Tinubu Debunks The Sun report on 2019 VP Slot” reads: “The attention of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Office has been drawn to the front page lead story of The Sun newspaper of yesterday, December 13, 2017, which sensationally and ridiculously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari may pick Asiwaju Tinubu as his running mate for the 2019 election. This is a classic case of utterly and irredeemably fake news.

“There is no empirical or logical basis for this mischievously speculative story. Is it even conceivable, as the story recklessly insinuates, that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would be considering returning to full church work rather than run with his boss, President Buhari for a second term if the latter so decides without as much as discussing such a sensitive issue with his party and with Asiwaju Tinubu? In any case, is this story not entirely unwarranted and indefensible as the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket has an electoral mandate of four years out of which it has spent only over two years and a half years?

“This is clearly an attempt to distract the APC Federal Government from the yeoman’s job it has been doing in rescuing the country from the deep rooted socio-economic, political, security and moral mess inherited from the PDP’s 16 years misrule of Nigeria, instigate crisis within the party, stoke dangerous embers of religious disaffection within the party and the country generally and stem the remarkable progress being made in the reinvention and revitalisation of Nigeria.

“The Sun newspaper, through this kind of story, does great discredit to Nigerian journalism, which has made considerable strides towards greater professionalism and excellence over the years. For the avoidance of doubt, Asiwaju Tinubu has absolute confidence and faith in both President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo who have been working hard harmoniously in offering inspirational leadership to Nigeria at a most critical period in her history. The heamorrhaging of the national economy through the wanton and unprecedented corruption that obtained before the advent of the APC Federal Government has been stanched.

“There is greater sanity, accountability and transparency in the management of the country’s finances. The Boko Haram insurgency has been substantially contained. We should not allow ourselves to be derailed from the job we are effectively undertaking in fulfilling our campaign promises anchored on the tripod of containing insecurity, taming the scourge of corruption and resuscitating the economy.

“The Buhari and Osinbajo-led Federal Government is deftly steering the country out of an economic recession that was the result of the ineptness of the PDP years of the locusts. Asiwaju Tinubu will never support any attempt to distract Buhari and Osinbajo from the job they are passionately doing through the kind of false report carried by The Sun. In particular, this story does great injustice to Vice President Osinbajo. Here is a man of the highest integrity, moral rectitude, amazing humility, high intellect and unimpeachable credibility. Here is a man of fierce loyalty and absolute trustworthiness who will never do anything in word, thought or deed to undermine his boss. His unquestionable dependability and indisputable fidelity to his oath of office was demonstrated beyond question by his honourable conduct during the President’s medical vacation. Asiwaju Tinubu and the people of the Southwest have absolute confidence and are exceedingly proud of the excellent job Prof. Osinbajo is doing as Vice President of Nigeria.

“Asiwaju takes serious exception to the insinuation by The Sun and in some other quarters that there was ever any so-called frosty relationship between Buhari and Tinubu. We challenge The Sun to provide any evidence where Tinubu has ever complained of any grouse against Buhari. As Asiwaju had cause to point out recently, having been elected President, Buhari had to be given the space to run his government. There have always been and will always be channels of communication between Tinubu and Buhari as members of the same party. Their interaction must not necessarily always be conducted in the public space.

“Contrary to the impression The Sun seeks to create, Asiwaju’s politics is not that of unbridled personal ambition for selfish interest. When at some point in the build-up to the 2015 election, President Buhari offered him the Vice –Presidential ticket, Tinubu gratefully and publicly thanked the President. When it turned out that such an offer would not be in the interest of the party and would play into the hands of enemies of change, Asiwaju unreservedly and passionately threw his support behind Osinbajo as the best man for the job. His opinion has not changed. Indeed, his confidence and belief in Osinbajo has been amply justified by the latter’s sterling performance in the office. This attempt to cause disaffection between the duo cannot and will not fly.

“As Asiwaju firmly asserted in a public statement on December 17th 2014 endorsing Professor Osinbajo for the position of running mate to President Buhari. ‘After all the political calculations are made and the dust of competition has settled, it must be this nation and its people who stand first and foremost. The question becomes whether we stand strong, able to shape ourselves into our best future or will we stand frail and trembling, burdened by the abject failure to surmount the multiple problems confronting us…For me, political ambition will never triumph over patriotic conviction. This delicate moment affords no space for emotion to intrude to blind us from what is best. The APC is the best and only vehicle to enact the progressive and broad change this nation cries for. I eagerly lend myself to this fine cause without me having to be on the ticket. This is a time for cohesion and an overriding sense of mission. We must defeat the foe before us and resist all temptations intended to entice us to fight among ourselves’. As it was then so it remains today and on this patriotic and selfless commitment Asiwaju stands unshakably”.

All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Tinubu never underrated the importance of governors in the party’s nomination process, his Media Office said yesterday.

Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha claimed that Tinubu said governors have no role in the choice of a presidential candidate for the party.

This is not true, the former Lagos State governor said, adding that what he said in that encounter with journalists in Akure “and still canvasses is that the APC should not mimic the PDP’s penchant for short-circuiting internal democracy by promoting the idea of an automatic ticket”.

Okorocha had said all the APC Governors had endorsed President Buhari for re-election, thus implying that the governors had given the President an automatic ticket for 2019.

Asked to respond to the issue after a meeting with Afenifere leader Pa Fasoranti in Akure, Tinubu said such was strange to the party and that President Buhari is a man who believes in due process.

Okorocha, however, interpreted that to mean a slight on the party’s governors.

Speaking with journalists in Akure after receiving an honourary doctorate degree at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State on Saturday, he said his statement referred to the party’s governors and that Tinubu was crying more than the bereaved.

In a statement last night in Lagos, Tinubu’s Media Adviser, Mr. Tunde Rahman, said: “We note Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha’s statement. It is important that the record of what Asiwaju Tinubu said when approached by journalists during his last visit to Akure is accurate. Thus, I make this statement in the hope of clarifying a misinterpretation that seems to have taken hold in some quarters.

“I was at the interview session.  Asiwaju never said anything that could be interpreted as meaning or even implying the governors are irrelevant or insignificant to the party’s nomination process. As a former governor and a leading statesman within the party, such words would never come from him.

“Moreover, Asiwaju is a democrat who believes that the open and democratic processes of the APC, which led to the nomination of President Buhari in the first instance, have served the party well and has helped distinguish APC from PDP and other parties where fairness and internal democracy are rare commodities.

“Every individual has a right to endorse or support a candidate of his choosing. What Asiwaju said at that encounter and still canvasses is that the APC should not mimic the PDP’s penchant for short-circuiting internal democracy by promoting the idea of an automatic ticket. The exercise of internal democracy and honoring the letter and spirit of party rules can only strengthen the party and enthuse its members.

“APC’s all-inclusive philosophy was not devised today. It had been with the party since its creation. It was this spirit, which we believe, attracted fellow progressives and those who genuinely believe in democracy in all of its aspects to the party. Asiwaju includes Governor Okorocha in this group.

“The APC Governors are essential and important voices in the party. Asiwaju values and respects each one of them and gives their individual and collective opinions much weight. Yet, in the exercise of our opinions and support for candidates, we all must be guided and never lose clear sight to the democratic ideals that separate the APC from the other parties. We must maintain the integrity of the processes no matter how clear-cut a decision or an outcome may seem to be. With regard to democracy, the process is of equal import as the outcome itself.

“This is the essence of what Asiwaju said that day in Akure. He merely asked APC members to adhere to the democratic path that thus far has served the party so well. There can be no true dispute with such a sentiment.”

•Abdulsalami, Okorocha, others hail ex-envoy at 80

Former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday described former Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador Shehu Malami, as an asset to the nation.

Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha said the best gift Nigerians could give to the former envoy was to take a decision to remain united as a country.

They spoke at Malami’s 80th birthday and presentation of a book entitled: “Shehu Malami: A Prince of the Caliphate. Selected speeches and commentaries”, in Abuja.

Tinubu said: As the Sarkin Sudan of Wurno has continued to age gracefully, we thank almighty Allah for his life. Ambassador Malami is an asset to Nigeria. Though of northern heritage, born and bred in Sokoto in the Northwest, he belongs to all of us. He is a true and a detribalised Nigerian who served all of us meritoriously when he was in public service.

“His life trajectory is known to all of us. He is an astute diplomat and a shroud businessman. He rose to the pinnacle of his profession as Nigeria High Commissioner to South Africa.

“As he excelled as a diplomat, he also excelled in the business world. He remained a major player in the Nigeria and international business environment till today, Ambassador Malami remains a first class product, a fine community and family man and an excellent gentleman. We thank God for his life.

“His life is a bridge between the old and the young. He was raised in the old aristocratic tradition, yet he remain very relevant among the younger generation and popular with the talakawas.

“He grew up in the household of Sultan Abubakar and travelled with him to various locations in Nigeria, along with others including the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, former President Shehu Shagari. Around 1960, he was the Sultan’s private secretary. Yet, he made himself relevant to the youths.

“He was involved in the organisation of the London branch of the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC). The other attribute is his patience and perseverance despite what many might see as temporary set backs. I salute him for his patient and perseverance and recommend it to all of us.”

Tinubu was represented by Chief Pius Akinyelure, the APC national vice chairman (Southwest)

Gen Abdulsalami said Malami’s 80 years on earth had impacted positively on the life of the nation in particular and the African continent in general.

He said: “My first contact with him started way back in the 1950s at the famous Bida Provincial Secondary School. Since then, we have maintained regular contact, getting to its peak as Nigeria’s representative to the Republic of South Africa where he and the late President Nelson Mandela made it possible for me to address the South African Parliament as military head of state.

“It was not only a honoure to me, by a signal in the anal of southern African history, placing and recognising Nigeria appropriately in the political history of South Africa, especially after independence.

“IT was during that meeting that the late Mandela said Mr. President, I can assure you that South African is not going to contest the seat of permanent representative to the UN when the time comes. Through your efforts, Nigeria and South African relationship is waxing stronger, inspite of minor and unwarranted hiccups.”

Okorocha described Malami as a detribalised Nigerian who decided to make friends a across the country irrespective of tribe or religion.

He said “Ambassador Shehu Malami is one Nigerian who does not count on the boundaries of religion or tribe. He has more friends in the southern part of the country like he has anywhere else. It is not common in our history as a nation to find leaders of his kind who has such contacts across the country. Today, I am looking at him aging gracefully.

“I am not eighty years old yet and so don’t know what it feels to be that age. But I think that at eighty, he must have seen it all and there is hardly nothing that anyone can tell him. It is a period when you know where you are going to and you know that you cannot put your car in the reverse gear.

“So, at that point, it is forward ever and backward never. That is the time many people are bold to speak out. This is what I think Ambassador Shehu Malami has represented.”