Director General Voice of Nigeria (VON) Osita Okechukwu has called on National Leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and former Lagos state Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to remain a kingmaker and jettison his presidential ambition.
He urged him to support a younger candidate from the south-east in line with the zoning convention.
Okechukwu, a foundation member of the ruling APC, also said contrary to the belief in some quarters, President Muhammadu Buhari never betrayed Tinubu over the vice president’s slot in the 2015 general elections.
The VON boss spoke Sunday while answering questions from journalists at the 2021 Eke Day in Abuja.
Tunubu, had last week, hinted on his plan to contest the number one seat.
The former governor was reported to have said he would not turn down calls from Nigerians to contest the 2023 presidential elections.
However, the VON boss advised the former lawmaker to drop his ambition for a younger person of south-east extraction.
Okechukwu said: “If one is consulted by our national leader, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on whether he should run or not for the exalted office of the President of Nigeria in 2023, my candid advice will be that he should use his abundant Almighty God’s endowment to unite the APC, and unite the South and by extension our beloved country, by backing a candidate from the southeast.”
Okechukwu advised the APC national leader to throw his weight behind a younger person from the South, especially the South-east geo-political zone to emerge as president in 2023.
By so doing, Okechukwu said, Tinubu would have united the south forever, “as some northerners have complained that why they are reluctant to support southern candidates is because of lack cohesion among the two major geopolitical zones in the south.”
He further said if Tinubu widens his search he would definitely find a credible candidate from the South-east who will easily defeat presumed candidate of the PDP, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
Doing this, the VON boss added, the former governor “would have wittingly used one stone to kill two birds – unite the APC, and unite the South and by extension, the entire country.”
He stated that it would be statesmanlike for Asiwaju to be a kingmaker than throwing his hat into the ring.
Asked why Tinubu should be restricted to only kingmaker’s role and not the king himself, Okechukwu argued that “the scriptures said there is time for everything which happens on earth. I am one of those Buharists who have tremendous respect for Asiwaju for the critical supplement he added to Buhari’s 12 million vote-banks, which resulted in our 2015 presidential election victory. It is not a mean feat, when you consider that with Buhari’s vote-bank, we were unable to win in 2003, 2007 and 2011, until the merger of the legacy political parties, where Tinubu played major role.”
2015
On whether there was an agreement between Tinubu and Buhari in 2015 to be his running mate in the presidential election, Okechukwu said: “I don’t know of any agreement.
“However, as I said, the scriptures posit that there is time for everything which happens on this planet. All I know is that there was raging debate on the propriety of Muslim/Muslim ticket as to whether it can guarantee victory for the APC at the 2015 presidential election. This was what, to the best of my knowledge, which denied Tinubu the vice presidential slot and not the scanty insinuation of breach of agreement. The scale of Muslim/Muslim ticket was weighty unlike in 1993 Abiola/Kingibe ticket. It was thoroughly debated and dropped, for defeat phobia.”
He insisted that President Buhari did not breach any agreement with Tinubu, but that it was real politicking at play.
Okechukwu said “giving the foregoing, Tinubu would etch his name in gold if he utilises his Almighty God’s endowed resources to support anyone from the South-east to be Nigeria president of Igbo extraction.”
On why Tinubu should support a South-east candidate instead of the incumbent Vice President Yemi Osinbajo believed to have been nominated by the APC leader in 2015, he said the rotation which according to him, started from the South-west in 1999, should for the sake of equity and natural justice, be allowed to move to the south-east in 2023.
He said: “One, it is because of the zoning convention which has governed the 4th Republic since 1999, a convention which states that the president should rotate between north and south. It started in 1999 from the South-west, with Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as president. Secondly, our brothers in the South-south had their turn to preside over Nigeria. South-east is the only geo-political zone in the south which had not presided over Nigeria except the six-month General Aguiyi Ironsi’s stint.
“This uncommon statesmanlike Tinubu’s gesture will unite the South, for many had bemoaned the lack of synergy between politicians from both the south-east and south-west geopolitical zones.”
On whether he was ruling Tinubu out on account of age, the VON DG said: “Whereas one cannot canvas age in any particular manner; we at same time need generational transformation.”
SWAGA
Faulting Okechukwu’s position, the South-West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA)-a pro-Tinubu group- said his comment smacks of arrogance.
SWAGA National Coordinator, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, who made the position known Sunday in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, said age is not a barrier to performance in office and that the constitution does not forbid Tinubu from contesting for office.
He said: “There is no age barrier and it is his constitutional right to contest. Performance is not a function of age. Winston Churchill of Great Britain was 82 and was elected Prime Minister. On the other hand, we know of many younger people that were in public office and they have nothing to show for it.
“During military era, there were many young people in position and they have nothing to show for their time in office. It is the personality of the person contesting election that counts. It is his determination to turn things around that matter.
“It smacks of arrogance for Okechukwu to ask him (Asiwaju) to withdraw and support younger people. It is unbecoming of his high office. It is unfortunate. He should withdraw the statement.”