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  • Tinubu: no rift with Buhari

    Tinubu: no rift with Buhari

    Purveyors of a rift between the President and All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu were told last night to stop their speculations.

    Tinubu said there was no truth in the speculations of a rift between them, adding that they understand each other.

    Tinubu spoke with State House correspondents after joining representatives of the 13 parties that collaborated with the APC in the general elections to break the Muslim fast with Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, the APC cannot perform magic and clean up the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) 16 years’ mess in 30 days.

    Stressing that party supremacy must be upheld, Tinubu said the party must have disciplined leadership and followers.

    On the alleged rift with the President, he said: “I have no demand than the party. If you understand what party politics is all about and leadership is all about, it is about loyalty and commitments to the values that leadership believes in.

    “I believe in what the President believes. I respect him and I stand firmly loyal to his course. So, you can go to any length of speculation that you might want. I have not responded to all of that because I understand the President and the President understands me clearly.”

    Asked to comment on the crisis in the National Assembly, Tinubu said: “That is an area I am very cautious of my position and my utterances. I still want to keep my side of interpretation or analysis to me to be able to achieve a resolution of the matter as quickly as possible.

    “I am backing all the President has carefully enumerated and articulated to the party. The party is supreme; the party must have disciplined leadership and followers. The party’s process must be respected because that is the confidence and the trust of the people.”

    The former Lagos State Governor, however, pointed out that conflicts should be expected in every political environment.

    “That is politics. And conflict resolution mechanism will be applied to resolve all problems. So, we are there. There is honour in every struggle, in every competition and there must be honour in victory too.”

    On how prepared the APC is to avoid the mistakes of the PDP, Tinubu said: “We are different. We cannot be PDP; we are APC. We will not repeat their mistakes. We know their mistakes, we know their errors. And we understand what Nigerians want. Nigerians gave this party a mandate because of our manifesto.

    “We are pro-people; we are progressives. We have had a conservative government in the last 16 years. This is a progressives party, just coming barely 30 days. We understand the hope of Nigerians and we respect that hope. We understand the expectation of Nigerians. We believe in that expectation and in our promise of prosperity to come. We will not change that.”

    Speaking inside the Banquet Hall after the breaking of fast,

    Tinubu, who described the APC as the Armoured Personnel Carrier, said that it represented the diversity of Nigeria.

    He thanked President Buhari for the opportunity of breaking fast with him, bringing together people of various backgrounds, regardless of religious affiliations.

    He said: “We believe this diversity will continue to propel us for economic growth under your leadership.

    “This is the first Ramadan after the election. We thank God for cutting down the opponent’s 60 years of fake promises to 16 years.

    “I heard they say we are slow. Yes, we didn’t campaign to be fire fighters, but planners and meticulous one at that. A latrine pit of 16 years can’t be cleaned up in 30 days because the mess is much.

    “Mr. President, you started well, you hit the ground running. You promised Nigerians that you’ll address security and your first meeting to ECOWAS was on security because we cannot fight alone.

    “You have been to other places. If they think it’s a game of ludo, we will say is serious business. If they forgot G7, we will remind them.

    “We have faith in you, Mr. President. We have faith in your capacity and uprightness. I’m here filled up and not fed up.

    “We promise to continue to be with you and support you. No matter what they are saying, we are not re-running the election until four years time.”We pray to God to give us four more years of this month and pray to Him to forgive our misdeeds, and for peace and stability.

    “Mr. President, your hands are on the plough and you will succeed,” he said.

    Buhari urged APC members to drop their differences and their influences both in the party and the country for the party to achieve its campaigns manifestos of addressing security, economy, employment and corruption. “If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria,” he said.

    President Buhari, who recalled how the party surmounted many obstacles to emerge strong enough to dislodge the PDP, said that it was important for the members to lay aside their differences and unite for the country’s sake.

    He praised Tinubu for his support and words of encouragement.

    He said: “I always like to go down memory lane to show how lucky we are as a political group.

    “At no stage was the decision taken by chance; it was all deliberate. The leaders of the parties felt the only way to wrest power from the PDP was for us to come together. I, in particular, was scared after previous failures of the elections of 2003, 2007 and 2011.

    “We dissolved our various parties to form APC. Then we applied to INEC. For once I was grateful to INEC. We had gone with nine people to INEC to apply and INEC advised us that we needed at least 25 people across the country to form a political party. We were able to go back, raised 35 members across the country and then successfully registered the party. INEC then informed the Federal Government that we had met the requirements, hence we cannot be denied registration. Many doubting Thomases said merger has never succeeded in Nigeria but here we are.

    “I went into this long explanation so that you will appreciate how far we have come and for a society as ours, if we respect the constitution, then all the greed and problems will be a thing of the fast.

    “We should just look at Nigeria as Nigerians, no matter the level you are, lose your influence so that we can help achieve the manifestoe – security, economy, employment and corruption – because if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria. We have to ensure that people we bring forward are those that will move the society forward”. He said

    At the breaking of fast were former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva, Senator Olorunmibe Mamora, APC National Publicity Secretary Lai Mohammed and Chief Audu Ogbeh.

     

  • Tribute to Tinubu

    Tribute to Tinubu

    I do not admire Tinubu because he is a saint.

    I do not admire Tinubu because he is from the south.

    I do not admire Tinubu because he is a Yoruba.

    If I want saints, I will proceed to heaven not on earth. Every human is fallible.

    I admire Tinubu because he saved Nigeria from the danger of falling into “one party state”. He has nurtured many renowned National successors.

    He listened to the voice of the masses to surrender his personal ambition at the most critical moment.

    He strategically terminated the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) 60 year’s life spam in 16 years.

    The robust critic and critique we are enjoying today is because Tinubu aligned himself to the masses to return the power to them.

    Tinubu has the option of joining the PDP elites to hold us hostage for another decade but he gave his all to the masses to dethrone the elites.

    Political juveniles believed that APC won because of the votes from the North. No!!! APC victory was cemented the day PMB and Asiwaju resolved to work together.

    Asiwaju and PMB almost became a Nomadic by visiting every human that can help midwife Nigeria salvation. Those Nomadic Almajiri walk later brought salvation to us.

    God willing, PMB is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    Anybody, any cabal, any Viju milk activist, attempting to humiliate Asiwaju must have me to contend with.

    An average PDP man is sad with Asiwaju because he brought them to their knee.

    If anyone thinks that bringing down Asiwaju is his project, that mission will not only crash but it will boomerang.

    Don’t tell me he is overbearing, your “underbearing” mentors were nowhere to be found when this country was lying critically at the intensive care of the universe.

    Recall my first line, Asiwaju is not a saint. Stop demonising what you admire out of envy. Even your mentors admire him.

    He owns Lagos! I hear you! Ask your grand father and parents how they acquired your so called “familyland”. Is it God that allocated it to them?

    You are terrorising your neighbours and village with your kpof-kpof kobo yet you criticise a man that is naturally addicted to technocrats irrespective of their tribe or Religion.

    Hmmmmm. I don talk am ooo, Asiwaju is not a political office holder ooo. Please let him be.

    He is evil, I agree, but we need more of him than your saintly specie.

    Dear Asiwaju,

    Good Morning!

    The gentle stride of a tiger is not a symbol of cowardice.

     

     

  • Is Tinubu responsible for climate change too?

    SIR: Aristotle, the great thinker, demonstrated his unparalleled understanding of the concept of justice when he opined with succinct clarity that justice, as we know it, should be about celebration of virtue – those who have distinguished themselves should be honoured without qualification. For, society is better off when men of good virtues are celebrated. Civilized climes over the years have cultivated this noble moral policy as part of their social practice. In doing so, envy, bias, ethnicity, blame game and the pull-him-down-syndrome were all relegated to their deserved abode – gutter. It then becomes clear that merit and positive development are at the core of statesmanship. But not so in this corner of the world, and definitely not so in my beloved Nigeria. Ours is a marked contrast of the civilized social practice. This is conscience-shocking.

    Asiwaju Bola Tinubu no doubt has paid his due in restructuring and sustaining the Nigerian project and this climaxed in the enthronement of the opposition party as the ruling party at the centre. For many, that was the grand slam. Without sounding immodest, it is doubtful if there is any leader in this generation that has sacrificed so much for the advancement of the country’s democracy. But in their typical nature, his traducers would have none of that. For them, this man must be decimated and at all cost.

    Even in his silence and tranquillity, they are still having sleepless nights, knowing full well that the lion is merely taking a nap, lest he roars with unmitigated ferocity. The late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo once told his cheerful audience, who had thronged his rally to witness the freedom of their revered leader, the story of a dog and a lifeless tiger. Hear him: “when a living dog is given the tail of a lifeless tiger, the dog would embark on a barking spree without anyone noticing until the dog eventually drop dead out of fear of his chief tormentor”. This is the dilemma of Tinubu’s traducers. Active or passive, they cannot sleep.

    Some people, in their warped understanding of life, believe that the only way they can reach the zenith of their political career is by destroying the legacies of others, which is why these men, in what appears to be a united front, have collapsed their structures and coalesced their strength with the sole object to obliterate this noble son of his fatherland. To them, whatever mischief that occurs in the country, Tinubu must be made scapegoat. He is responsible for that woman that had a stillbirth at Onitsha; he must account for the flood that destroyed the crops of Mallam Musa at Zaria; and should be prosecuted for the armed robbery that occurred at Abeokuta. On daily basis we are awash with news of how Tinubu did this or did that. Maybe the next headline would be: “Tinubu caused global warming”. These people have no shame. Elevating lies and propaganda to an art is what they have obtained PhD at. But time, they say, is the best judge, and history is replete with the end results of those who once traded that path.

    In the end the just would be vindicated and the blackmailers would realise the futility of their actions.

     

    • Alatise Taofeeq, Esq. 

    Asa-Dam, Ilorin.

     

  • Presidency denies rift between Buhari, Tinubu

    Presidency denies rift between Buhari, Tinubu

    The Presidency has debunked claims of a bitter rift between President Muhammadu Buhari and the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over the leadership crisis in the National Assembly.

    Describing as “unfortunate” the emergence of Senator Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President in the Senate with majority APC members, the Presidency said the party’s leaders were working closely with the President to deliver his electoral mandate to Nigerians.

    According to the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mallam Garba Shehu, the challenge before the key leaders of the APC transcends the leadership tussle in the National Assembly as they meet regularly to discuss how best to meet the expectations of Nigerians.

    Shehu, who spoke to our correspondent in an exclusive interview yesterday in Abuja, said the perception by a section of the populace that the President is slow in effecting change is misplaced as he was taking his time to sort out the huge mess left behind by the Jonathan administration.

    He said Buhari had been busy working out an action plan that would include “taming the monster of corruption, assets recovery and making the power sector functional”.

    On the ‘perceived’ rift between Buhari and Tinubu, Shehu said: “There is absolutely nothing like that. The President maintains excellent relationship with his friends and who are these people? They include Baba Bisi Akande, one of the most respected individuals that you see around the President; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who, a week or so ago, was in Aso Rock and had a hilarious discussion with the President. Just two days ago, they were inquiring about former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to attend the Ramadan breakfast. The President keeps his friends.

    “Sometimes, the things we read in the press amuse us because, as far as the personal relationships are concerned, nothing has dented the political family that the President keeps. All these persons I have mentioned realise they have a political party to build and they have work to do. They have obtained the mandate and they know they need to fulfil certain obligations to Nigerians. The expectations are high. So, they are not mistaken about the assignment.”

    Shehu, noting that the government’s strategy in the fight against insurgency is reaping positive results despite an increase in the tempo of attacks on soft targets by the sect, said there would not be any sacred cow in the fight against corruption as shown in the arraignment of high-profile personalities in the courts.

    “When people say the President is slow in effecting change, I will say it depends on what the people think is more important for the country. Now, those who feel the most important thing that Buharri ought to do is appointment would naturally feel disappointed. There are those who think he has problems of security to solve. You know that in the last one month, he has broken the Boko Haram rank and it is in disarray now. The central command has scattered. What you have now are splinters on a vengeance mission, creating havoc wherever they can.

    “Those people who feel the war against corruption is key know that Buhari has started already. When last did you see this kind of high profile prosecutions? This thug stopped half-way through President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure. So, this war against corruption is being renewed all over again and people can see it. Whether it’s assets recovery or any other matter, it is ongoing.

    “Then there is the issue of the economy with power being a major focus. Without power, you cannot get anywhere. So, the President is putting together an action plan that excludes corruption, that cleanses the rot that he met on the ground, particularly the oil sector. You just cannot believe the kind of mess that the previous government left behind. Oil theft would end because the President is going to plug the loopholes. Do you know that, for the first time, somebody said at the governors’ meeting with the President that that was the first time they were being told how much had come into the treasury? Before now, they would probably be told what was on the table and they’d just share it. Now, transparency, which has never been with us, has come. There is so much openness now.”

    On the crisis in the National Assembly following the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Yakubu Dogara as Speaker of the House of Representatives, contrary to the wishes of the APC leadership, Shehu said Buhari would not meddle in the matter but reiterated his desire to work with whosoever emerged.

    Shehu said: “Where is the regional agenda in all of the things that has played out in the National Assembly. The biggest beneficiary of what has happened in the National Assembly is Senator Ike Ekweremadu who comes from the Southeast and represents the Peoples Democratic Party. The PDP was clearly rejected at the polls and people now talk about a reincarnation of sorts for the party. So this is not regional, ethnic or religious. The President needs good partners in the National Assembly to realise his agenda and a parliament that is in a storm, that is boiling over, is not good for his party. Yes it is in the interest of the President and the country that the parliament sit down and resolve their problems – free of interference of outsiders because President Buhari would not meddle. Once they settle it amicably, this country would benefit. No matter what shape it takes, the President would work with whosoever is there. He has said that much himself.”

  • Gov’s aide chides Ohaneze Ndigbo over Tinubu

    Gov’s aide chides Ohaneze Ndigbo over Tinubu

    A former Senior Special Assistant to Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Electronics and Broadcast, Engineer Remi Omowaiye, has chided the Ohanaeze Youth Council over its attack on the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    Omowaiye, who also condemned the statement credited to the group in its reaction to the invitation of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, by the police for alleged forgery of the Senate Rules, warned the Igbo group against being used to tarnish Tinubu’s image.

    According to Omowaiye, it is shameful for the Ohanaeze Youth Council to associate itself with allegation of forgery levelled against Ekweremadu, adding that the group is expected to preach justice, rule of law and campaign against executive lawlessness.

    He warned the OYC against politicising the criminal case and whipping up ethnical sentiments on the matter, arguing that Ekweremadu could not have been invited by the police if, indeed, he had no hand in the forgery allegation.

    Omowaiye called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, not to succumb to the campaign of calumny to discredit the police on the case.

    Omowaiye said: “It is shameful for a group of elites like Ohanaeze Youth Council to associate with criminal allegation, and it is also mischievous for the group to accuse Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of being the man behind the ordeal of Senator Ekweremadu.

    “Asiwaju is the factor in Nigerian politics and the icon of common sense revolution and he could not be wished away no matter the blackmail and conspiracy of detractors.

    Speaking on the forthcoming election to choose the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the APC, Omowaiye urged leaders of the party to unanimously elect Tinubu for the position, stating that he is the most qualified for the exalted position.

     

  • Professionals hail Tinubu

    Professionals hail Tinubu

    A group,  South West Professionals Forum (SOWPROF), has hailed  All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu for saving Nigeria from economic and political pitfalls.

    Established in 1993,  SOWPROF hosts over 10,000 Yoruba professionals in Nigeria and the Diaspora.

    A statement by its President, Segun Ajibulu, yesterday in Lagos praised the APC leader for risking his life and resources to liberate Nigeria from a ruinous path foisted on it by the ousted Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The statement reads: “Since 1999, Asiwaju has been a pillar of democracy. He put his hat in the ring not for himself but for the benefit of all.

    “Tinubu has played more roles than any Nigerian to ensure the sustenance of democracy.

    “In the campaign to make the Southwest a model region, we praise Tinubu’s efforts. We urge him not to relent in his efforts to unite the people.

    “The future of the Southwest lies in an effective and professional civil service, creative exploration of untapped natural resources and regional integration.

    “We are concerned with the fall in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We are worried that states are not able to pay salaries due to no fault of theirs. We are concerned that the civil service is weak and needs to be strengthened. The future of the people of the Southwest lies in economic and political unity of purpose.

    “We need a system that will take care of those without the economic means to survive.” No state can do it alone. All the willing SW states need to work together. This is the best way to minimise violence and tame the tide of instability in the Southwest for the overall peace and wellbeing of Nigerians.”

  • ‘Stop vilifying Tinubu’

    ‘Stop vilifying Tinubu’

    A group, Citizen Change Entrepreneurs (CCE), has cautioned those castigating the All Progressives Congress (APC) National leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the National Assembly.

    The group described Tinubu as “the democratic master key” for his roles in the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari as winner of the last presidential election.

    It uged the President to remain undeterred by the rumbles at the National Assembly, saying no individual is greater than Nigeria.

    The group added that Buhari must remain focused in his determination to tackle the challenges facing the country.

    The organisation’s President-General,Omolori Abdulkareem Okene, said:  “Condemning Tinubu at this point in time is uncalled for. He has done a lot worth praising. Both APC and the PDP should not allow their personal interest to undermine the change the country struggled to achieved.”

     

  • Why they are after Tinubu

    SIR: The coordinated vicious attacks on the former Governor of Lagos and APC National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a direct result of the front-line role he played in ending the 16-year reign of the PDP. The attacks both in the traditional and Social Media are orchestrated by those who blame him for everything happening to the party, especially the crisis triggered by the National Assembly leadership election.

    The attacks have become stronger since last Friday, when he was needlessly pilloried for not attending the NEC meeting of the party in Abuja, called to resolve the National Assembly leadership crisis.

    There is no doubt that the attacks are being orchestrated by those who have not forgiven Asiwaju for the visionary role he played in bringing about the merger of opposition parties into the APC, which then went ahead to win power at the centre.

    ‘But for Asiwaju’s uncommon vision and extraordinary politics, such a merger could never have been consummated, not to talk of winning power at the centre in less than two years of its registration by INEC.

    Add that to APC ‘s unprecedented feat of becoming the first party to unseat a ruling party, and you can then begin to understand why those who had their long snouts tucked into the nectar of power under the PDP will never like the APC visioner. Come to think of it, no PDP member or supporter will ever see anything good in Asiwaju.

    Asiwaju’s unprecedented success in politics has also been the source of anger and hatred directed at him by those who were very comfortable with the status quo, especially since the beginning of the current political dispensation in 1999.

    Recall that when Obasanjo embarked on his onslaught against the South-west in 2007, only Lagos State under Tinubu survived. But for his survival then, which he then leveraged upon to retake power from the PDP in the region, there would have been no APC today, because the ACN – the key legacy party of the APC – would never have been born.

    The PDP, lacking visioners like Tinubu, never for once imagined that some opposition elements will put their differences aside and opt to work together for higher interests, like it happened in the case of the APC, to unhorse them. That was why, in their moment of power stupor, they boasted that the PDP will rule for 60 years.

    It is therefore not strange that the man, Tinubu, is being attacked and blamed for every perceived wrong in Nigeria, in the APC or for allegedly seeking to grab every imaginable post in his party.

    But there is no cause for alarm. Every great man in history has gone through the same motion of being pilloried, being misunderstood or being simply hated for their greatness. It is not about to change with Tinubu, but like it or not, his place in Nigeria’s history is guaranteed. He has earned that and no level of attacks can take it from him.

    Tinubu should take solace in the words of another great man of his time, Albert Einstein, who said: ‘’Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.’’

     

    • Danladi Daniels,

    Lagos

     

  • Baraje’s tirade against Akande and Tinubu

    Albert Einstein it was, who posited that if an individual is persistently maligned or persecuted while on a salvaging mission, his traducers do so purely out of envy. To them the unattainable grape is sour. That may perhaps explain the recent tactless tirade by Abubakar Baraje, one of the defectors from the crisis-ridden Peoples Democratic Party, PDP made against revered APC chieftains in the persons of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the prime mover of the coalition of the progressive parties and Chief Bisi Akande  the former interim chairman of the APC. Baraje, we recall was amongst politicians who jumped ship to avoid being swallowed up by the then imminent electoral storm.

    By his political antecedents, Baraje like the current Senate President, Bukola Saraki cannot lay claim to any progressive political ideology. As hard core conservatives they have never been on the side of the people, but have always angled for power for self-serving reasons. Though he successfully ditched the PDP for the APC, Baraje thought, but erroneously so, that he could import that individualistic mindset against the sway of party supremacy that the progressive parties such as the CPC, ACN and ANPP have been known for.

    It is within this context that one could best situate his recent unfortunate remarks. Baraje, a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), described as ‘unfortunate,’ a statement credited to the party’s former interim National Chairman, Chief  Bisi Akande, where he alleged that principal officers of the National Assembly enjoy the backing of some oil business interests and anti-Buhari elements.

    Baraje, in a press statement described Akande’s comments on the crisis as hypocrisy and reminded him of a meeting, which had an unnamed governor from the North-west and a leader of the party from the South-west and the latter was admonished about the crisis in the party.

    He also reminded Akande how he supported the governor against the South-west leader’s antics and described Akande’s statement as “fabrication.” Baraje said he was disappointed that Chief Akande, who had led the party and served as a governor, authored a statement where he sought to divide the nation by setting the North against the South-west.

    Baraje went further:”I do not know where Chief Akande and his cohorts are getting this unsubstantiated information they are circulating. We challenge them to provide proof and let Nigerians make their judgment…”

    “Akande and co believe that they have exclusive right to determine who occupies what position in today’s Nigeria and whoever tries to challenge their position must be subjected to savage attack in the media. That tactic is definitely undemocratic.

    ”My worry has been that President Buhari is being fed with lies and stories that are dangerous to the polity. My fears have now been confirmed with Akande’s statement. It is my prayer that the President should strengthen his information gathering network, so as to have a clear and true picture of what is happening. I am sure they just wanted to poison the minds of the people before that meeting. Akande sure does not want reconciliation and they already have an agenda they are pursuing. Yet, they accused others of different sins. We pray that reason will prevail and they will join others to move the party forward”, he said.

    But on his part, Akande has reiterated his position, based purely on the party’s supremacy. This was his response in a recent media interview, when asked why he considered Saraki and Dogara’s emergence as a rebellion.

    “The party took a position. They did a primary and somebody won. Anybody who goes against the democratic position of the party is rebellious. Don’t you see it as a rebellion? I know that Nigerians don’t know discipline anymore; everybody does things they way they like. You didn’t get there by yourself but by the grace of your party. That is why you can go to the party to say that I want to be this and they would say oh, they are many of you who want to too, come and do election. And somebody won and somebody stood by that person. Once you go against that party, you are committing rebellion. It is an act of indiscipline. I support all of them, they are my colleagues, but I don’t support indiscipline.”

    In another press interview he made a poignant observation. He described Senator Saraki and Honourable Dogara as being all out to foist the fortune of their former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on the new ruling party through their “rebellion” which, he said, killed the PDP.

    He said the backers of the “rebellion” as insinuated in his letter, which was made public on Monday, paled in comparison to the “criminal act” which, he said, the action of Saraki, Dogara and others against the party symbolised.

    “The cardinal thing I emphasised in that statement was discipline, obedience to your party. It is our party that made Saraki. He cannot disobey our party”.

    Viewed from a more holistic perspective therefore, it goes beyond Baraje’s assumption that Akande was setting the North against the South-west. His views are patriotic as it has to do with internal party democratic ideals based on discipline.

    Supporters of the rebellion are also at the heart of those accusing Tinubu of obsession with power and being over bearing. They are the ones wrongly accusing him of nominating 19 people as ministers, out of a possible 30. Unknown to Baraje and his cohorts, the duo of Tinubu and Akande have consistently been driven by the patriotic fervour, over the years to seek for what is best for the country. Tinubu, for instance has earned the accolade as a political strategist of no mean measure, across Nigeria’s quicksand political landscape. He was there as an enduring symbol fighting assiduously for the return of democracy during the dare-devil days of military dictatorship. Like other patriots he exhibited that uncommon courage to stand on the side of his people when it mattered most. He spent his money and provided logistic support during the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) days  to fund the famed Radio Kudirat against the Abacha regime.

    It would also be recalled that when the PDP rigging machinery bulldozed its way through those South-west, Asiwaju as the governor of Lagos State, the Centre of Excellence became the ‘last man standing’ in that ultimate battle for political survival.

    And he is still here now, standing tall as one of the few Nigerians who salvaged democracy from  the throes of annihilation. He could not stand aloof to watch Nigeria being besotted by storms of political ineptitude, cluelessness and crass corruption riding high on the wave crests of opportunism. Again, he stood up to  say a vehement “no” to it all.  Only a patriot would do that.

    His towering political stature still sends shock waves down the spine of crass political opportunists, especially those like Baraje and his co-travellers who love to reap where they never sowed.

    Empirical evidence abounds to show that he has been passionately propelled by the principles of equity, fairness, and justice all in the search for the common good. For that he has made a lot of sacrifice; of energy, time, resources and even his cherished freedom.

    Yet, he is most painfully being misconstrued as a self-serving politician. But this could not be true. Were it so, he would have been contented with being the chairman, Board of Trustees of the APC or its National Chairman, or put himself forward for a ministerial post. It should be noted that at no point in time has he ever vied for any of these plum political posts in AD, AC or ACN (all defunct).

    All said, Nigerians who massively voted APC for Change should be wary of politicians who find it difficult to subject themselves to party supremacy and discipline. And those, who defected from PDP to APC for self-serving reasons, wanting to dictate to the founding fathers of the APC.

    Chief Akande and Asiwaju Tinubu are absolutely right; only with discipline can the party fulfil its electoral promises to the people. The earlier the fair-weather politicians sacrifice their inordinate ambitions for the general good, the better for us all.

    ‘Nigerians who massively voted APC for change should be wary of politicians who find it difficult to subject themselves to party supremacy and discipline’

     

  • Solidarity rally for Tinubu in north

    Solidarity rally for Tinubu in north

    A group, Patriotic Northern Coalition for Justice, Peace and Equity, will hold a solidarity rally in Kaduna to express gratitude to the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    The National Coordinator of the coalition, Alhaji Babangida Sule-Manchok Jnr, told newsmen in Kaduna yesterday that the rally will hold immediately after the fasting period.

    He pledged that all its members across the 19 northern states in the country and beyond have been notified about it.

    He said the coalition was working for the development of the north and will therefore support any individual or group that works towards the success of the region.

    “As a group, our basic interest is to work for the progress of the country in general and the North in particular.

    “So, we will support anyone who has worked or is still working for the betterment of the region or have the interest of our region at heart.

    “By working tirelessly to ensure the victory of our son, brother, father and leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, Bola Tinubu has shown that he is a true friend of the region.

    “Even though people have grown tired of former President Goodluck Jonathan, it would have been difficult to defeat him if not for the unique commitment of Tinubu towards ensuring that his South-West region voted overwhelmingly for Buhari.”

    He went on: “So as part of our gratitude, we are organising this solidarity rally is to show him that we, the Northerners, are grateful to him for what he has done for us.

    “It is not a political rally because electioneering campaigns have come and gone. ?

    “This is a rally of gratitude and of a grateful people. In the rally, we shall also acknowledge all those who played one role or the other in the victory of Buhari.”

    Asked if there were moves by some to work against Tinubu in APC as being reported, he said: “We won’t even allow anybody or group of persons from any part of the country to plan anything against Tinubu’s interest in APC.

    “It is true that such moves are ongoing and we even know some of the people involved, but they won’t succeed.

    “Selfish politicians can’t just sit down and begin to plot against someone we in the North are planning to appreciate for what he has done for us.”