Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Leader and presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that he has high regard and respect for Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari as the Commander-in-Chief.
The party leader who has come under scathing criticism for his comment on the President in Abeokuta on Thursday, said “I shall never denigrate him. I certainly did not do so in Abeokuta. We have been political partners for a long time and I hope that our partnership continues well into the future.
“I would do nothing to jeopardise it. I believe our party is the best hope for the nation to right itself. I believe I have a future role larger than the one I now have. I also believe President Buhari has a continuing and important role to play even after his tenure as president is over,” he explained in a statement he personally signed on Friday evening, Daily Independent reports.
Tinubu said there have been gross misinterpretations in some sectors of the media regarding the comments he made on Thursday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Read Also: I’m Not A Political Emperor With Entitlement Mentality, Dapo Abiodun to Tinubu
He said that to a degree, the erroneous interpretations may be somewhat innocent given that he spoke in Yoruba. “Those who do not understand the nuances of this richly layered and subtly language may have inadvertently yet erroneously missed the true meaning of what I said while attempting to translate my statement.
“Instead of weighing what I said carefully, they translated so quickly and thus inaccurately in an attempt to meet media deadlines. Of course, there are also those who knew better but they conveyed these inaccuracies because the sensationalism suits their political purposes.
“Again, such propaganda and misinformation become daily fare in the heat of the political season. Let’s just state what needs to be stated. My opponents want to present a narrative that I made comments disrespectful of President Muhammadu Buhari in hopes that such a narrative would convince President Buhari to oppose my aspirations regarding the approaching primary. President Buhari is an experienced and accomplished leader. I do not believe he will be taken by the tricks of such people.
“Indeed, I consistently supported the president and his administration. Even when the administration has come under intense criticism, my feet have always been planted solidly in defence of the president. The president personally nominated me to coordinate his re-election campaign in 2019.
“He did this not because I opposed him or because I was indifferent. He did so because I was firm with him in 2015 and has stood firmly beside him ever since. When I publicly announced my aspiration to seek the party nomination for the upcoming presidential election, I stressed that my strategic objective was to build on the foundation laid by the Buhari administration.
“In fact, I believe I was the first aspirant to inform President Buhari of this presidential intention. It was a sign of the respect I have for him and his office. It is unthinkable that I would asperse the leader of the party for which I hope to be the next flag bearer. It makes no sense at all to do such an indelicate, unseemly thing”.
