All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will
never stand in any contest against President Muhammadu Buhari or support
anyone against him, his Media Office said yesterday.
Tinubu pledged his continued loyalty to the president and the APC in a
statement to debunk Thisday’s story published yesterday.
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.
It also said Tinubu would never join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or
any mega party, having laboured hard to bring the APC to life and power.
The statement said: “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.”