The national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has finally reacted to a statement he was alleged to have been made against President Muhammadu Buhari in 2003.
The Cable news reports that the former governor of Lagos state said that he is not responsible for a viral quote describing the president as a religious bigot, fanatic and an agent of destabilisation.
The quote, which has now gained more attention on social media in the recent times was allegedly made in 2003 when Buhari was contesting under the platform of the defunct All Nigerian People’s Part, ANPP against former President Olusegun Obasanjo of the People’s Democratic Party.
The statement reads: “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.”
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 aide 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.
