All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
has vehemently denied reports that he was planning to run for the
presidency of Nigeria.
In a rebuttal by his media office, Tinubu
said he will never stand in any contest against President Muhammadu
Buhari or support anyone against him.
The statement titled:
“Response to Thisday false news report” added that the former Lagos
State governor was neither planning a team nor holding consultations
with the intention of planning any presidential campaign.
Here is
the statement in full: “The front page story of the February 28 Thisday
newspaper alleging that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is actively planning a
presidential run is an example of bad fiction masquerading as
professional journalism.
“The story is a manufactured tale weaved by its authors to try to create division where there is none.
“Those
who wrote this fantasy seek to place Asiwaju Tinubu at odds with
President Buhari. Writing such a baseless report is a very foul and
wrong thing to do.
“The story carried the headline ‘Tinubu
Prepares for Presidential Run, Dumps PDP, Mega Party Alliance’. The
headline is remarkable in the fact that every bit of it is utterly
wrong.
“First, Asiwaju Tinubu is not gearing up for a presidential
run. So there will not be any doubt about this core matter; we shall
state Tinubu’s position clearly and unequivocally so that even Thisday
reporters cannot misinterpret his position.
“As long as that
patriotic and committed man named Muhammadu Buhari holds and seeks to
hold the mantle as our president, then Asiwaju Tinubu stands behind him
in unwavering support and confidence.
“Asiwaju Tinubu remains
faithful to the mission of progressive reform and change that President
Buhari, he and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have started.
“Tinubu
was instrumental in the formation and success of the APC. His toil and
efforts helped establish this government. He is not one to tear down
something he laboured so dutifully to build.
“Instead of trying to
convey the truth, the THISDAY report opted to gain false sensation by
completely mocking the tenor of the brief banter Asiwaju Tinubu had with
journalists at the inauguration of Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi
Akeredolu.
When asked about future political office, Asiwaju said
he could not discount that possibility if the nation called upon him for
such service, provided, he emphasised, that all political conditions
were appropriate; particularly the office in question would have to be
vacant, even if it’s local government chairmanship. In our political
lexicon, this means the office is not held by a member of the APC in
good standing. We all know this.
“Moreover,
if you really listen to his words, Asiwaju did not mention any office
or any time-frame. The conditions he mentioned may not become ripe for
years to come and they might not pertain to the presidency. In effect,
all Asiwaju said was the position that any political figure would hold.
“As
a politician, he cannot preclude the possibility of running for office
in the future because no man knows what the future will hold. To
translate this general statement of political reality into a tale that
he is actively preparing for a 2019 presidential run is reckless in the
extreme.
“For that newspaper’s reporters to have engaged in this
great leap of counterfeit logic means they purposefully bowed to the
pressure to create false headlines instead of following the ethics of
their craft to follow the truth even if the truth is more pedestrian and
less volatile than what the reporters would have liked to hear. “They
have turned themselves into newsmakers instead of remaining true to
their calling of being neutral conveyors of events.
“Asiwaju
Tinubu has not held any planning meetings for any such presidential
campaign and is not contemplating any such meetings. He has no present
list of possible running mates because he has no present intention of
running.
“The headline also libels Asiwaju by asserting he was
going to join the PDP. This is as shameless as a lie can be. Asiwaju is
acknowledged to be the intellectual father and the driving force behind
the APC.
“It makes no sense that he would abandon the party that
he worked hard to build in order to enter the dilapidated building the
PDP has become. Asiwaju worked for over 16 years to break the PDP yoke
on the nation.
“After breaking that yoke, it is not in his nature
to voluntarily place it back on our necks. Anyone who has followed his
career, even his staunchest critics, knows Asiwaju for his partisan
consistency. He is not a party hopper. He is loyal and sticks with the
party to which he belongs.
“After fighting for so many years to
elevate his party to the position of national leadership, he would not
give that away in order to join with those who blame him for their
currently bleak political circumstance.
“We understand all too
well the genesis of this false news report. For their own reasons,
THISDAY has joined with those who seek to put Asiwaju Tinubu at odds
with our President.
“This scam will fail. Asiwaju supports and
stands behind President Buhari. He wishes the president well and that he
returns soon. Whether the president is here or away, he has the full
loyalty of Asiwaju Tinubu.
“President Buhari can rest assured on
this point: Asiwaju Tinubu will never contest against him nor will he
support anyone who does.”
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