By Kolawole Ojebisi
Senator Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) has refuted the claim that he bankrolled the campaigns that brought President Muhammadu Buhari to power in 2015 and 2019 with N35billion.
This was contained in a statement released on Friday by his spokesman, Tunde Rahman.
The statement is a rejoinder to a report going the rounds that quoted Asiwaju Tinubu to have expressed regrets that he spent heavily on the president to ensure his electoral victories.
According to the report Asiwaju Tinubu accused the president of betraying him while having a discussion with Bisi Akande, a former interim chairman of the APC on the dissolution of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling party.
Rahman, who called Tinubu and Akande “political soulmates”, described the report as ” libellous, deceitful, hypocritical and self- manufactured.”
The statement read partly, “Baba AKANDE and Asiwaju are political soulmates. They converse every now and then. It is a no -brainer for anyone to think they would talk on recent developments in APC as they speak on all issues at all time. It is, however, disingenuous for anyone to surmise that Asiwaju would make such an odd claim in discussions with Baba AKANDE or anyone for that matter. The authors of the deceitful and hypocritical report should have put the identities of their fabled ‘source’ to their self- manufactured report.”
He said election, as an enterprise, is so grand for an individual to solely credit themselves with the outcome, adding that even though Asiwaju Tinubu supported the President on both occasions, he rode to power on the back of massive popular support he enjoyed in those two electoral years.
He said, “No one person elected President Buhari. He was elected by the generality of Nigerian electorate. Asiwaju Tinubu would not arrogate to himself the commendable decision taken by the people. Also, that outlandish claim only existed in the imagination of the authors of the story.
Asiwaju rooted for President Buhari’s election in 2015 and re-election in 2019 along with other right-thinking political leaders and teeming members of APC and Nigerians across the country.”
He maintained that there is no basis for Tinubu to regret the “rightful” decision of President Buhari or describe him as “ungrateful” stressing that Asiwaju Tinubu’s support for the President and his programmes and policies remains unflinching.
“He has no reason to regret the rightful decision or describe President Buhari as ‘ungrateful’ . He remains steadfast in his support for the President and the programmes and policies of his administration as he has always been. Nothing has occurred to warrant any change of heart” Rahman said.
Rahman said there are clues to the possible identities of the authors considering the fact that they linked the current development in the APC to the fate suffered by former governor of Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode, in 2019.
He said,”The report linked recent developments in APC to the fate suffered by former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in the 2019 governorship race in Lagos State, perhaps betraying where the authors were coming from.”
He, however, said Asiwaju has put 2019 behind him and the state as a whole has moved on, adding that the current governor, Babajide Sanwo-olu and Asiwaju have a rosy relationship and the report can not drive a wedge into it.
“Asiwaju has put the events of 2019 behind him. He has moved on. Indeed, Lagos has moved on. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is providing good, purposeful and responsible leadership. Lagosians are enjoying the fruits of good governance under the able and dynamic Governor Sanwo-Olu.
Asiwaju and Governor Sanwo-Olu have the best of relationships, contrary to the impression the report sought to create. They want to sow discord between the two leaders. The duo know better. They will give them no room.” he said
He urged the public to ignore the “baseless” report.
“They and their baseless report should be totally ignored. We know them for who they are: a bunch of hatchet, hired writers.” he concluded.
