Former Vice President and presidential aspirant on the platform of the
All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has denied the report that a
former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, is lobbying for another
aspirant and former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).He said
Tinubu would not make such moves, as the ex-Lagos State governor
remained an elder statesman that would not be involved in favouritism...
A national newspaper (not PUNCH) had reported on Wednesday that Tinubu,
who is allegedly backing Buhari’s candidacy, might be picked as the
General’s running mate.Atiku’s media adviser, Mr. Garba Shehu, who spoke
to our correspondent on Friday, said it was expected that the
leadership of the APC would be divided by the contest between the
ex-vice president and Buhari.Shehu said, “It is expected; there will be
people who will support Gen. Buhari and there will be those who will
support Atiku. The party is not a military organisation. There is no
regimentation and there will be no forced opinion on anyone.“We have no
knowledge of that (Tinubu’s support for Buhari); we have no evidence of
that. All we know is that he has resolved to play the role of a
statesman and to stay above the fray. There is nothing on ground to
suggest to us that Tinubu has moved away from that position.”
Atiku’s spokesperson also denied reports that a recent statement by the
ex-vice president suggested that Buhari is a fanatic.In what reports
described as a veiled reference to Buhari, Atiku had in a statement
issued on October 2, 2014 said, “I believe that the next president of
our country, who, by the grace of God, will be produced by our great
party, must be someone who is a unifier, bridge-builder and not someone
who bears ethno-religious bias. Above all, he must embody a vision of a
Nigeria for all.”
Shehu, however, denied that the statement was targeted at Buhari.
He said, “We did not say that. If you read our statement, it is not
saying that. If you go to the market and make a general abusive
statement, if somebody raises his hands to say ‘I am the one he is
referring to,’ that is his own choice.“I am sure Gen. Buhari himself
will agree that the country doesn’t need a fanatic. And we didn’t say he
is a fanatic. We never said he is a fanatic; we never said that. If
others say he is, that is their view of him. We are happy that the
General himself has not raised his hands to say ‘I am the one you’re
referring to.”
Culled from Punch
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