Bola Tinubu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and presidential hopeful has said his support ensured President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the 2015 presidential election.
Gatekeepers News reports that Tinubu said during a meeting with APC delegates in Ogun state, Southwest Nigeria on Thursday.
The former Governor of Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria who described the election as a “war”, narrated how he “surrendered” the vice-presidential ticket to Yemi Osinbajo, when concerns were raised over a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the APC.
“Buhari asked me to be his running mate, but Saraki campaigned against a Muslim-Muslim ticket. He felt it would affect his ambition to be senate president. The senate president could not be a Muslim as well. They rose against it. I said ‘I have someone that’s a Christian and I will nominate him. This party must not scatter’ and I nominated him (Osinbajo). That’s the truth,” Tinubu said.
“You have not heard this from me before. This is the first place I am saying this. It’s my time now.”
“If not for us… me standing in front of you, captain of the war that said Buhari should not continue and we are behind him, he wouldn’t have become President,” Tinubu continued
“He contested the first time and lost, he failed the second time and failed the third time and cried on live TV that he will never run again.
“I went to meet him in Kaduna and told him ‘this isn’t about tears, you will run and we will stand behind you and you’ll win. All you need assure us is that you will treat the Yoruba nation well’ and he agreed.
“Ever since he became President, I’ve not nominated a Minister, I haven’t received any contract, I didn’t beg for soup and garri. I didn’t beg for cheese from him and I didn’t take a loan from his government.
“And I said it’s time for Yoruba now. And if we should pick amongst the Yoruba, I’m the next in line.
“I’ve protected my ‘children’ enough. I also want to become President. I don’t want to be just a part of history.”
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