I’m Not An Emperor — Abiodun
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State also responded to the dressing-down by Tinubu that he would not have become governor of Ogun without Tinubu’s help.
Speaking at the meeting with delegates of the APC in Abeokuta on Thursday, Tinubu had said: ‘This one sitting at my back, Dapo, could he have become a governor if not for me? We were all in the stadium where they tore all the posters. Even the candidacy of the party, they didn’t want to give it to him.’
Responding to Tinubu on Friday, Abiodun said he was not an emperor and the position he holds is not a family inheritance. The governor said he would not abandon the promise he made to the people of the state, adding that he would continue to be fair and just in his dealings.
“I am not an emperor by any chance and this is not my family inheritance. I am holding this position in trust for all the people of this state and I have vowed to be fair, just and equitable and this is the solemn agreement I made between the Almighty God and myself.”
Vilifying North like this heightens our sense of insecurity, fear — Babachir Lawal
Speaking on the issue, Babachir Lawal, who is supporting Tinubu’s presidential aspiration said: “Sometimes it is very difficult to support a Yoruba person in national politics if you are not one.
They have a way of making you regret your support because they eventually make you seem like a traitor to your own people. Now all these comments about Bola’s Yoruba presidency and his support of Buhari without which Buhari would not have been president is bullshit.
“He wasn’t the only one whose support made a difference. There were many others from all around the country and they are not bragging about it.
“You may wish to know that all of us, Buhari supporters, are shocked and pissed off by Bola’s speech on this occasion. It is unlike him.
“And this speech is massively trending in the North and being given a negative connotation as you can well imagine. I first read it this morning on an Adamawa group platform and the anger is palpable and all round.
“Will Tinubu win Monday’s APC primaries without Northern support?
“You would think Yoruba will resist the temptation of joining in the northerners-bashing game at this very critical time – the primary election is only three days away. It is unfortunate that Bola himself chose to join in this bashing game – choosing to speak in the Yoruba language and in Yoruba land in a manner that seems to denigrate Buhari. I could vividly imagine the discomfort of all the northerners sitting beside him on that podium.
“This appears to be the Abiola saga being replayed. Abiola won the election with majority of Northern votes but they took the brunt of the post-election protests that followed.
Just survey all the people that are doing more meaningful practical things to enthrone Bola as president and you will find that almost all are northerners while his kinsmen engage themselves in social media activism and Northern-bashing.
“When Yoruba vilify the North like this, our sense of fear and insecurity under a Yoruba presidency gets heightened and in the end, pushes us to rethink our support for not only Bola but any Yoruba as president for that matter.
“Please, do not join our opponents to destroy our chances of clinching Monday’s primary elections.”
Nigeria bigger than Tinubu’s ambition, I acted in national interest — Saraki
On his part, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, in a statement by the Head of his Media Office, Mr Yusuph Olaniyonu, said when he opposed the plan to foist a Muslim-Muslim presidency on Nigeria in 2014 he acted in the national interest and believed Nigeria was bigger than anybody’s ambition, including that of Tinubu.
Saraki, who was responding to the speech by Tinubu in Abeokuta that Saraki and others opposed his desire to be running mate to President Buhari in the 2015 elections, noted that he will oppose any plan that causes a religious crisis in a multi-religious country like Nigeria.
His words: “When I and other leaders of the APC in 2014 stood against having a Muslim-Muslim ticket, it was not a decision targeted at any individual or group but one taken in the national interest. Asiwaju knows this and he is just being mischievous by presenting this decision as something aimed at stopping his ambition.
“Let me make it clear that the decision to oppose the plans by some people to make APC present a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015 was in the national interest and I will take the same stand today, tomorrow, and any other day. My stance is based on the fact that such a ticket is not good for the unity of the country and will further accentuate one of our fault lines.
“Even Asiwaju Tinubu knows that I am a man who does not shy away from standing for what is right. He knows that I don’t follow the crowd and I take a stand based on my conviction of what is good for the country and what is not good for her. It is also obvious that I have paid prices for this stand.
“The opposition to a Muslim- Muslim ticket was not targeted at Tinubu or any other person. It was a decision that even all party leaders know helped the victory of the party and also worked for the unity of the country. That decision is not about self but national and collective interests. It is a decision which served the purpose of the people of Nigeria and I have no regret supporting it.”
Saraki also stated that after he was elected Senate President, Tinubu maintained an adversarial position against the Eighth National Assembly, initiated covert and overt measures aimed at undermining the federal legislature, and set the executive against the legislature
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