A member of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress, Salihu Moh. Lukman, has tackled the Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, over his reaction to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s recent outburst in Ogun State.
Adamu had on Saturday threatened to sanction the National Leader of the party for allegedly disrespecting President Muhammadu Buhari through his remarks when he met Ogun delegates in Abeokuta.
Reacting to the threat, the National Vice Chairman, Northwest, of the APC said Adamu’s position is not that of the NWC.
Lukman said while Adamu has a fight to his personal opinion, he cannot however force down his opinion on other members of the NWC and pass it as the position of the party.
He said, “We all including Asiwaju himself acknowledge that it was unfortunate he made those statements and it is his right to express his frustrations. It should be recognized as such. But nobody, no matter the position of the person can use it against him unless the party follows due process through the rightful organs of the party to discuss it.
“So, 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 relevant organ of the party, it cannot be considered as the position of party. It is not the position of APC, it is his personal opinion”, he declared.
Similarly, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Special Duties, Mallam Ya’u Darazo, has risen in defence of Tinubu, over statements credited to the latter that was perceived as insulting to the president.
Darazo who was present in Abeokuta, the Ogun during the visit said the statement was taken out of context to embarrass Tinubu and create disaffection between him and President Buhari.
He said, “In the last 48 hours or so, the media space has been polluted by the odious breath of mischief makers – nay ingrates who mispresented Asiwaju’s speech with the sole aim of planting discord between him and President Muhammadu Buhari. In their mischievous minds, that would earn them added advantage in the primaries for the Ticket of the APC.
“I have a message for them. They have failed woefully. They should not take Nigerians for granted; Nigerians are wise enough. Let the mischief makers note that good and purposeful leadership is not on the same page with mischief. It is good that Nigerians know them early enough. It is very clear that their purpose of seeking leadership is not service driven.
“I was with Asiwaju in Abeokuta among other good people of Ogun State when he delivered the speech in question. It was in Yoruba Language. It was later translated to me which I found quite acceptable and politically relevant to the audience and even beyond. Truth is sacred. If the mischief makers think that by mispresenting Asiwaju’s statement they will get the sympathy of the President; they have failed again and failed woefully.
“President Buhari is not a stranger to the bashing of media mischief. He is a veteran. He passed through it. He suffered from it like no other leader in this country. When he sees media mischief, he would know it; certainly, like this one against Asiwaju.”
