The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has dissociated himself from a campaign group – “Asiwaju Reloaded Ambassadors Nigeria” – purportedly fronting “unsolicited and unwarranted” campaign materials about a prospective 2023 presidential run.
“We have seen pictures of face caps, T shirts, shirts and even leaflets with Bola Tinubu 2023 embossed on them,” he tweeted. We hereby, through this medium, categorically deny any knowledge of the group and dissociates Asiwaju Tinubu from the group’s unsolicited and unwarranted materials,” Tinubu said in a series of tweets signed by his media office and posted on his official Twitter handle.
There have been various insinuations that the former Lagos State governor will be running on the platform of the APC as the country’s next president. And this has ruffled feathers in certain quarters and has become the source of much controversy and anger.
Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-rufai at a lecture in Lagos, in May, gave his audience tips on how to deal with godfathers in politics, following a question from a former APC Legal Adviser Muiz Banire. Both El-rufai and Tinubu are chieftains in the APC.
The verbal assault was believed to have been directed at Tinubu, who is regarded as the godfather of Lagos politics. El-Rufai came under intense attack. He later denied that his comment was directed at Tinubu. Critics say the verbal assault was El-rufai’s indications that he may not be in support of Tinubu should he emerge the party’s flag-bearer in the 2023.
In April critics said Tinubu was propping up Femi Gbajabiamila, to emerge as the Speaker of House of Representatives as part of his plans to run for the presidency in 2023. Gbajabiamila won the speakership election.
Tinubu described the report as ‘senseless’ reports, stating that his support for Ahmed Lawan and Gbajabiamila was aimed at helping Buhari succeed in the “shared vision of a flourishing economy and a prosperous people,” in his second term.
“Not only are these reports utterly false, based as they are in the febrile imaginations of those persons by whom they are being peddled, they are injurious to President Buhari’s historic quest to reform Nigeria,” Tinubu said in a statement.
