SAN FRANCISCO October 07, (THEWILL) – Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has condemned the attack on a national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, stating that those fighting him within the party has gone as far as setting Tinubu against the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, by insinuating that he tried to prevent Osinbajo’s emergence as Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in the 2015 election.
The authorised biography of President Buhari launched on Monday had revealed that Tinubu, mounted pressure on Candidate Buhari to run as the latter’s running-mate in the 2015 presidential election, but that the then APC presidential candidate preferred to run with Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, over Tinubu.
But stressing that this narrative “is sad”, Fayose said in a statement issued on Friday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, that the “humiliation of Tinubu is as good as humiliation of the Yoruba race.”
According to him; “even though I am not a member of APC and I will never be, I have elected to stand in defence of the Yoruba nation once again by saying no to the continuous dishonourable treatment being meted to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, having paid his dues.”
“If Tinubu is allowed to be embarrassed and disgraced just the way our past leaders were humiliated by these same elements, the Yoruba nation would have been made to suffer for uprightness.”
The All Progressives Congress Youths Democratic Frontiers, APCYDF, had on Tuesday protested at the National Headquarters of the APC in Abuja against Tinubu’s demand for Odigie-Oyegun’s resignation. The protesting youths accused the former Lagos governor of high-handedness, saying that he was behaving like an “emperor” in the party.
Fayose, in the statement, condemned this protest, which he said was sponsored against the APC leader at the party’s national secretariat, saying; “it is unfortunate that Tinubu is now being vilified in a party he invested heavily in and his fellow kinsmen that he brought up politically are part of this conspiracy.
“In their desperation, they have even tried to set him against the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, by insinuating that tried to prevent his (Osinbajo) emergence as President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate, this is sad!”
He lamented that “when other tribes protect own, it is becoming historically common among the Yorubas to allow themselves to be used against their leaders just for momentary political gains at the expense of the collective interests of the Yoruba nation.
“It should be noted that late Chief Obafemi Awolowo was sent to jail by the conspiracy and collaboration of some Yorubas with the external aggressors.”
The Governor continued, “Tinubu is a prominent stakeholder, we should not sit back and watch while those he used his own sweat to make conspired with others to humiliate him.
“Most importantly, it is my position that irrespective of political affiliation, no leader of the Yoruba nation must be vilified unduly, especially by the same people who humiliated our past leaders like Obafemi Awolowo, Adekunle Ajasin, Bola Ige, Bisi Onabanjo, Lateef Jakande and others.
“To me, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu should not be seen just as an APC leader, but acknowledged as a major stakeholder in the Yoruba nation that we must all protect beyond politics.
“It should be recalled that these were among the issues that I raised when I visited Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State few months ago on the need to work together beyond party affiliations.
“Here in Yorubaland, it is said that if a household is at peace, it is because the bastard child of the family is yet to attain the age of maturity and those people that Asiwaju Tinubu made, but are now being used against him should watch it.
“I therefore condemn this conspiracy against Asiwaju Tinubu and I admonish those that are hoping to make political benefits from it to have a rethink.”
Fayose, who called for greater unity among the Yorubas, added that; “We are first Yorubas before becoming members of political parties, it is my opinion that our leaders must be defended and protected not-minding the personal gains of today”.
