APC Presidential Primary: Adamu, Lukman, Bicker Over Tinubu’s Comment On Buhari | READ DETAILS
It seems as all is not well within the National Working Committee (NWC) of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) as the presidential aspiration of the ‘National Leader’ of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, vis a vis President Muhammadu Buhari’s preferred aspirant to be the APC presidential flag bearer, appears to have pitched members against one another.
Fresh indications to the divided NWC emerged at the weekend as the National Chairman, APC, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu took exception to comments allegedly made by Tinubu which Adamu claimed to disparage President Buhari while on the other hand the National Vice Chairman, APC North West, Dr. Salihu Lukman, dismissed Adamu’s reaction as the chairman’s personal opinion which should not be construed as the collective position of the NWC.
Tinubu while addressing delegates in Abeokuta, Ogun state recently had claimed – and many political analysts agree with him – that without his support for Buhari in 2015 he would have failed to be president like the previous three unsuccessful bids since 2003.
The severally postponed APC presidential primary is billed to start on Monday 6June 2022 and is expected to be a showdown between power blocs loyal to President Buhari and Tinubu over the presidential ticket.
It had been reported that President Buhari is not favorably disposed to Tinubu’s aspiration or even an open contest at the primary. Instead, the President is rumoured to prefer Vice President Osinbajo as the standard bearer of the APC in the 2023 presidential election.
But Adamu, while addressing journalists at the national secretariat of the party, expressed displeasure over Tinubu assertion.
Adamu said: “Within the last three days, the country, and the world of the social media have been unaudited with the report of one of our leaders, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State when he went for his campaign in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
“In the course of his address he went as far as to mention what happened between him and President Muhammadu Buhari. He went as far as to tell his audience how Buhari went to him, even prostrating in tears, begging him to endorse him for the presidency.
” He claimed Buhari came to him. The words in Yoruba… the interpretation was very very insulting, very very unbecoming of a person of that is standing to do what he did to a sitting president produced by the votes of APC. It is amazing how a fellow APC person would make that kind of comments about the president.
“We take exception to this and this doesn’t show any appreciable level of respect for the office of Mr. President and the person of Mr. President. Therefore, we want to make it public that we are saddened about the audio and video in that reportage and we condemn it in the strongest terms.
“I as the chairman of the ruling party has the duty to come out and stand by our government, to stand by our president.”
Adamu’s comments, according to some political analysts, can be construed to mean that he is on the side of the President on the APC presidential candidate issue and against Tinubu’s aspiration. If this is so, the national chairman would be expected to work for the emergence of the President’s preferred aspirant at the upcoming primary.
(Lukman’s picture)
However, in a swift reaction Dr. Lukman distanced himself and other members of the NWC from Adamu’s statement.
Lukman said: “The opinion expressed by Abdullahi Adamu was his personal opinion and it is his own right to present it to any organ of the party for consideration. But until that opinion is adopted by the organ of the party, it cannot be considered as the position of the party. It is not the position of the APC; it is his personal opinion.”
According to APC insiders, Lukman is favourably disposed to the aspiration of Tinubu and an open, free, fair voting contest in which the Tinubu camp is confident of victory.
Recall that Lukman had on the 27May, 2022 warned that the ruling party may soon slip into crisis.
Lukman, in a leaked letter dated May 27th 2022 title ” Rebuilding APC: Need for New Initiatives” addressed to Adamu and copied to President Buhari, Vice President Osibanjo, Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief Bisi Akande, former interim national chairman, former APC national chairmen, John Odigie Oyegun, Adams Oshomole, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Dr. Ogbonaya Onu, appealed to Adamu to review the party’s approaches under his leadership.
