The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has condemned a report which accused him of banning the governor of Oyo state, Abiola Ajimobi from leading the party’s campaigns in the state.
Tinubu described the report as a vindictive attempt to sow discord amidst the party, adding that, the writer is angered by the APC’s success in the presidential election.
According to him, Oyo state are partners not rivals and that his intervention in Oyo APC is to engender genuine reconciliation and not to oppress the governor.
He noted that the governor has brought progress to the state and has made history in the state by serving two consecutive terms. ”He is instrumental to anything the APC can achieve in Oyo,” he added.
The former governor of Lagos state made this clarification in a statement issued on Monday by his Media Adviser, Tunde Rahman.
The statement read in part: “The report titled: “Tinubu Bans Ajimobi from Appearing at APC Governorship Rallies” is another of SaharaReporters’ excursions into falsehood. The report claims that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu somehow has banned Governor Abiola Ajimobi from attending APC campaigns for Saturday’s governorship election in Oyo State.
“This report goes beyond a lie. It is a vindictive attempt to sow discord because the writer is angered by the APC’s success in the presidential election. Thus, the writer has cast truth aside in his angry desire to inflict some kind of electoral wound on the APC.
”However, the writer should refrain from this path of falsehood. It would be better for the writer to come to grips with reality and to accept the fact of the APC presidential victory and the likelihood of APC victories in most governorship elections, including that of Oyo.
“The mischief that SaharaReporters cites is not between Tinubu and Ajimobi. It is solely in the mind of SaharaReporters. By its unsubstantiated report, the medium seeks to set brother against brother. Asiwaju and Governor Ajimobi have been political brothers and allies for a long time. Their friendship existed long before SaharaReporters came to the scene and will endure long after this self-diminishing online site is no more.
“Moreover, Governor Ajimobi has been an excellent governor and a faithful member of the APC. He has brought progress to the state and in serving two consecutive terms, Ajimobi made history in Oyo. He is instrumental to anything the APC can achieve in Oyo. The truth is that Asiwaju is not trying to supplant or hide the governor. Instead, Asiwaju is lending his support to the governor’s and APC’s efforts in the state. They are partners not rivals.
“As such, he has held strategic meetings with some notable groups and important individuals. The heart of the discussions was the need for all to come together to achieve victory for APC in the March 9 governorship poll.
”At no time did the issue of banning anybody, talk less of Governor Ajimobi, enter into the discussions. We want and need Governor Ajimobi to be a visible figure at the forefront of this campaign during these final decisive days. He will prove pivotal to our hope for victory in the state.”
