Presidency has denied reports that President Muhammadu Buhari’s reference to Lagos state in his interview on Arise Television was directed at Bola Tinubu, National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC).
Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, said the President’s comment on the future of APC during the interview had nothing to do with Tinubu.
Read Also: You Can’t Sit In Lagos And Decide Zoning In APC, Says Buhari
The President during the interview said;
The hope of this administration is to see APC last beyond it. Therefore, we should allow the party to decide. You cannot sit there in Lagos, for instance, and decide on the fate of APC on zoning.
However, some Nigerians believed that the President’s remark was targeted at the former Lagos State governor.
Several supporters of APC leader in Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, have been clamouring for the party to zone the Presidency to the South, adding that there was a gentleman agreement for such when the party was being formed in 2013.
Additionally, Tinubu is believed to be nursing a Presidential ambition although he has yet to confirm or deny it.
Clarifying the comment, Shehu, in a statement titled “Fighting corruption in democracy not easy – Buhari” said;
The Presidency wishes to distance President Buhari from a malicious campaign aiming to drive a wedge between him and a staunch ally, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This is nothing short of a mischievous attempt to drag the President into controversies. Our citizens and especially the members of the APC should not fall for this.
The ruling party, the APC, unlike others before it is a popular political party owned by its entire membership, hence Mr. President was making the point during the 45-minutes interview that neither he nor anyone in the leadership could impose their wishes on the party.
He expressed;
This is a basic consensus that binds the entire party leadership. The party leaders remain firmly committed to the principles that succession must be through the democratic norms and processes.
The mention he made of Lagos was not a reference to the respected party leader, Senator Bola Tinubu, as the opposition party’s predatory designs would put it in order to damage the excellent relationship between the two of them.
The President, the Asiwaju and the rapidly growing members of the party, want a dynastic succession of elected leaders.
The APC should not be distracted from its progress as a democratic party.
