By Reactions have continued to trail the remarks of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu over his role in the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
The presidential hopeful, while addressing Ogun APC delegates on Thursday, had narrated how he rescued Buhari from political retirement and helped him become Nigeria’s leader after the latter lost three consecutive elections.
The statement has since sparked outrage in the polity, as some berated the former Lagos State governor for disrespecting the president.
However, the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organisation, has reacted to the reports that Tinubu took a swipe at Buhari, describing them as “erroneous, misleading and mischievous”.
In a statement signed its Director of Media & Communications, Bayo Onanuga, on Friday, the campaign group argued that the references made by the presidential hopeful during his address are factual and have been analysed in the media over the years.
“While we recognise that recent unexpected interventions in the time table and the heat generated by the proximity of the event might have led to some anxiety, this campaign organisation believes that the main thrust of Asiwaju’s presentation, was that his huge contributions to the formation and electoral success of the All Progressives Congress should count in his favour as a true party man who desires to be the flag bearer,” it said.
The campaign organisation said it was surprised at the way the opposition and Tinubu’s traducers had turned his statement to give an interpretation the ex-governor did not mean and did not say.
The statement added, “At no time did Tinubu play any ethnic card or denigrate any ethnic group. That is surely out of his character, as Engineer David Babachir Lawal, attested in his viral whatsApp statement.
“Tinubu’s speech in Abeokuta did not demonstrate any disrespect to President Buhari, for whom he has a very high regard, and whose re-election campaign he chaired in 2019.”
