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| National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu |
Elder statesman and former Presidential Liaison Officer, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has confirmed that the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will indeed, contest for the seat of the President in 2023.
Until the confirmation, Tinubu has been privy about his decision to contest despite reports of a secret deal between him and Buhari that would see him succeed Buhari as President.
Former Lagos State Governor who currently serves as minister for Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, recently hinted that Tinubu would contest the 2023 presidential election, but urged Nigerians to wait till January 2022 for the APC National Leader to formerly make his position known.
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Hard Copy’ programme on whether Tinubu is interested in becoming the President of Nigeria, Fashola said, “As far as I am aware, nobody has said, ‘I want to be Nigeria’s President’. There are people speaking for people. Nobody has come out, we are not at that stage yet.
“I saw him (Tinubu) last week, he didn’t tell me he is running for office and to the best of my knowledge the last statement he made on it is that people will know in January.”
Fashola also said he has not asked Tinubu whether he is interested in the 2023 President or not. “No, I didn’t ask him, I just went to ask how was doing. He has issued a statement that, ‘I will speak in January, so let us wait till January,” he said.
It seems however, that Nigerians no longer need to wait till January to know where Tinubu stands, at least, based on Yakasai's revelation.
Yakasai who hosted Tinubu at his Abuja residence on last Wednesday, said Tinubu formally informed him of his decision to contest for the seat of the President in 2023, and seek his support in the process.
He disclosed that Tinubu is one of only two politicians he could support for the presidency. However, currently at 96 years of age, he has no intention of joining politics.
“I don’t want to join any (political) party but I can support a candidate of my choice. I have said it way back in 1951 that I will not be a party member but I will support a candidate of my choice,” Saturday Punch quoted him as saying.
“He (Tinubu) just came to visit me but actually I have two of them (presidential aspirants) that I have earmarked right from the beginning and I made a vow that any one of them who came to ask for my support first is the person I would support. Tinubu is the first person.”
Asked if Tinubu expressed desire to vie for the presidency in 2023, Yakasai said, “He (Tinubu) did and he asked for my support.”
Yakasai has in an interview with Sunday Tribune, said he had always known that Buhari lacks the capacity and the competence to deliver the goods and solve the country’s problems, and will not support any politician whom he said only want power for money.
“I have never supported and will never support Buhari. I know Buhari has no competence to rule the country. I have never changed my mind about his lack of competence to lead the country.
“I didn’t support Buhari because I knew he could not solve our problems as a country. The capacity is not just there. I would join efforts to look for somebody who can solve our problems.
“Nobody can solve Nigeria’s problems until there is a programme for solving the problems. Many now want to become president because they want to have power and to make money.
“Such people can’t solve our problems or the problems of any country. Only people who put their minds to the problems can solve such problems. If we want to develop agriculture, we must have a programme that solves the problems in that area.
“There must be a programme to solve the problems of power, infrastructure and a programme that will create jobs for the youths. If there are programmes for the various sectors, the future of the country would change for the better.
“But these people only want power to make money. It is not a question of South or North because both southerners and northerners have ruled the country. It is the problem of lack of programme and capacity that is troubling the country,” he said.
Meanwhile it is unclear which party Tinubu would contest the election. Recent developments in the APC suggests the Party leader has been left in the cold following Buhari's decision to not influence party decisions in Tinubu's favor.
“You cannot sit there in Lagos, for instance, and decide the fate of APC on zoning. Therefore we should allow the party to decide,” Buhari had said during an interview with Arise Television back in June 10, 2021. Buhari is believed to be referring to Tinubu with his statement.
It is also believed that Tinubu would change platform should the party he helped form, and the president he help brought to power, betray him.
A recent report by New Telegraph, citing sources close to Tinubu, claims the APC Leader is considering plan B should Buhari fail to fulfill his own part of the bargain by making him the APC presidential flag bearer during the party’s primaries next year.