Tinubu finally speaks out over alleged comment against Buhari

Emmanuel AmudaFebruary 7, 2020

0 2 minutes read

The former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Friday, February 7, has finally spoken out over a statement he was alleged to have been made against Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari.

Tinubu, the National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, said that he is not responsible for a viral quote describing the president as a religious bigot and an agent of destabilization, the Cable reports

He described a statement credited to him about President Buhari as fictitious and the handiwork of merchants of hate and fake news.

It was gathered that the content being shared across social media platforms in 2003, indicated that Tinubu described Buhari as an agent of destabilization, ethnic bigot, and a religious fanatic.

The statement read: “Muhammadu Buhari is an agent of destabilisation, ethnic bigot, and religious fanatic who if given the chance would ensure the disintegration of the country. His ethnocentrism would jeopardise Nigeria’s national unity.”

It would be recalled that in 2003, Buhari contested the presidential election under the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) but lost to former president Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

At the time, Tinubu, who was seeking re-election as governor of Lagos, ran under the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD) and won.

Speaking on the alleged statement, Tunde Rahman, a media adviser to Tinubu, in a statement on issued on Friday, February 7, said the quote is fictitious, describing it as “the handiwork of merchants of hate and fake news.”

He said the former governor never made such a statement about Buhari, as he appealed to the public to ignore it, challenging those behind it to mention where Tinubu made the remark.

“Let’s dissect it: Yes Asiwaju and GMB as he then was were not in the same party in 2003. But they were not on each other’s path to warrant any hard feelings in the first instance.

‘GMB was contesting for the presidency in 2003, Asiwaju was Lagos governor seeking re-election which he got. GMB was contesting against president Obasanjo.

“Truth is Asiwaju would even wish that GMB defeated the dictatorial president Obasanjo who ruled the country on his whims.

Against a clear decision of the Supreme Court, Obasanjo seized Lagos allocation and did many unthinkable.”

Rahman said the agents of darkness who were bent on sowing seeds of discord at this time the nation is confronting challenges of insecurity and religious extremism should tell the public when Tinubu uttered those words.

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