The former minister particularly blamed Mr. Tinubu for frustrating his ambition to become the party’s national chairman. Read Mr. Ikimi’s allegations here. Mr. Tinubu has now responded, describing Mr. Ikimi as a man with an awful past who could not be trusted with the leadership of the party.

Tinubu Media Office Lagos-Nigeria,
August 31st, 2014
Reply to Chief Tom Ikimi.

I ordinarily would not have responded to Tom Ikimi’s lengthy chronicle of falsehoods, cheap blackmail and abuse. My only reason for this response is that I know Tom Ikimi’s style. He subscribes to the view that no matter how unbelievable a lie may sound if you brazenly assert it and repeat it often enough you may persuade many that it is in fact true. I have seen Ikimi perpetrate this deviousness in his years in public life.

1. Regarding Ikimi’s bid for the Chairmanship of the Party. It was clear to practically everyone who had the interest of the party at heart that we simply could not have a man of Tom Ikimi’s antecedents as Chair of the party. As chairman of the NRC, one of the only two political parties in the country under the military transition programme, Tom Ikimi not only connived with the then military regime to annul the elections, terminate the democratic process and sell off his party. He became Abacha’s foreign minister, convincing the world that heinous state murders like the hanging of Ken Saro Wiwa were just acts! If Ikimi were the Chair of APC the party would have to sleep with both eyes open lest its chairman sell off the party before day break .No matter what anyone may say about me it is unlikely that I can be accused of supporting incompetent or morally light-weight individuals for important political positions. My philosophy is to put the best forward, men and women of competence and integrity, who can stand up to us politicians to challenge us and say no when necessary. Such people are not noisy or able to gain attention by being loud, I believe my role is to do all I can to project them. Who in their right mind would compare the highly principled Chief Bisi Akande, or Chief Oyegun with a Tom Ikimi? Either of these two men are known for their no-nonsense styles, not once in their careers would you hear that they betrayed a cause or were anybody’s stooge.

2. Ikimi also concocts a story of a meeting he claims I had with Deziani on the Oando/ ConocoPhillips transaction on the eve of the APC Convention. Only a Tom Ikimi can come up with the absurd falsehood that on the eve of the APC Convention when I was in crucial meetings practically round the clock I was meeting with the Minister for Petroleum! What exactly would have been the point of such a meeting especially on the eve of the Convention? Was it to prevent Tom Ikimi from emerging as Chairman of the APC? To what end? Of what value would it be to anyone except Ikimi himself? Besides if this was so why he is back to the same party that purportedly planned his down fall?

What is the Oando/ConocoPhillips transaction anyway? For those who do not know this is a private sale of the assets of ConocoPhillips to Oando. It was not patronage of any kind from the Federal government. The Federal government’s involvement was merely to formally consent to the sale. I was not involved and I have never been involved in any of Oando’s transactions.

Typically he plays on the fact that Wale Tinubu of Oando is my nephew. Oando has been thoroughly investigated by South African and British authorities in the past 5 years as part of the process of listing the company on the stock exchanges of those countries. Those rigorous and comprehensive investigations conducted by the governments and risk control investigators are to discover the actual ownership of shares in the company. Politically exposed persons like myself are prime targets for those investigations. All these investigations have shown that I have no investments in Oando. My public position on the entire transaction is that if an indigenous Nigerian oil and gas entity run by young serious minded Nigerians raise money transparently in the international capital markets to purchase private assets of a multi-national the Federal government ought to give its consent. That it took so long is shameful. The Conoco/Phillips transaction was a $1.7 billion dollars investment in Nigeria that would create more jobs,witness the establishment of allied industries and make the Nigerian Economy more attractive. I would have been extremely proud to have made such a transaction possible.

3. Regarding the nonsense about selling out on Ribadu. I think common sense should dictate that if ever such a deal were reached we would have had to inform our members in all the States. How could that have been done secretly? How do you tell hundreds of thousands of people not to vote for your own party without it becoming public knowledge?

At the formation of the APC, a crucial debate ensued about what to do about persons like Ikimi who had done awful things in the past, but who were now minded to align with the progressive tendency in Nigerian politics. Should we forever blacklist them? This would have been the easiest route, but it would have kept rancour alive. It would have made us slaves to the bleakest chapters of our past. Instead we opted to extend the hand of brotherhood, reconcile and put the past behind us. This would enable a broader political consensus, while also giving the likes of Ikimi an opportunity to atone for their grievous wrongs against the people and be rehabilitated.

We recognized that many leading Nigerians had committed acts of shame. Some for private profit, others who were otherwise decent people who had become prisoners to a terrible system.

Not surprisingly, Ikimi acting true to type abuse that magnanimity. He was never sincerely committed to the party. He was always playing out a PDP script. He only wanted the chairmanship of the party as a bargaining chip for negotiations with his benefactors. His defection purportedly on account of the loss of the chairmanship of the party is a mere subterfuge, once his ploy failed he had no other objective within the party, I knew he would go back to his sponsors. He is back in the company he deserves. And APC is better for it.

-Bola Ahmed Tinubu -

See more at: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/featured-news/167633-tinubu-tears-apart-ikimi-says-hes-a-devious-man-with-an-awful-past.html#sthash.hlHzkt6c.dpuf

Nonsense write -up

ok..

Brilliant rebuttal to the attention-seeking midchief of Ikimi.

Ikimi can go and die, he is of no value to APC.

Please go back to the killer-party.

If you read in between the lines, you would notice that Tinubu has actually confirm most of what Ikimi wrote.
1. Subversion of democratic tenets to edge out those not in your payroll and impose those you think are 'good' people.
2. Knowledge of Oando transaction. Running around the simple question of whether he attended the said meeting or not.
3. Formation of APC and the party leader (sic).

Delirious supporters of APC..... GEJ till .....

is there a "yawning" smiley?

@ ITbomb, pls expantiate

@ITbomb.....he supports certain candidates over others dont mean imposition.....does it? 2. Whether he has kn2 of the oando deal still doesn't make him an owner....and it also doesn't erase the overall objective of adding value to the economy. And how does that affect anything in the 1st place...or r u implying he is being 'settled'? 3. Did the PDP materialize from heaven or was it a committee of men that had previously ripped this country apart in time past? I am yet to understand ur point..........

Medicine after death. The deed is already done. No amount of blackmail or backlash will fill the void Tom Ikimi left.

@Moderator,please take to front page plsssssssssssss.

ITbomb: If you read in between the lines, you would notice that Tinubu has actually confirm most of what Ikimi wrote.
1. Subversion of democratic tenets to edge out those not in your payroll and impose those you think are 'good' people.
2. Knowledge of Oando transaction. Running around whether he attended the said meeting or not.
3. Formation of APC and the party leader (sic).

If you read the news, the information Tinubu gave on the Oando transaction is what everyone knew all this while. Also the fact that he puts his weight behind certain candidates doesn't make him anti democratic. The question is does he manipulate results to favour his candidates? And he obviously didn't say that, so I wonder where you got your conclusions.

If Ikimi were the Chair of APC the party would have to sleep with both eyes open lest its chairman sell off the party before day break

Only a Tom Ikimi can come up with the absurd falsehood

At the formation of the APC, a crucial debate ensued about what to do about persons like Ikimi who had done awful things in the past...Should we forever blacklist them? This would have been the easiest route, but it would have kept rancour alive......Instead we opted to extend the hand of brotherhood, reconcile and put the past behind us. This would enable a broader political consensus, while also giving the likes of Ikimi an opportunity to atone for their grievous wrongs against the people and be rehabilitated.

Not surprisingly, Ikimi acting true to type abuse that magnanimity. He was never sincerely committed to the party. He was always playing out a PDP script. He only wanted the chairmanship of the party as a bargaining chip for negotiations with his benefactors. His defection purportedly on account of the loss of the chairmanship of the party is a mere subterfuge, once his ploy failed he had no other objective within the party, I knew he would go back to his sponsors. He is back in the company he deserves. And APC is better for it.

Hate him or love him...Bola Tinubu knows his cards. Ikimi will regret the day he insulted Tinubu with that yeye article. PDP investment in him failed. Up APC. God bless Nigeria.

When you dont know the purpose of a thing, abuse is inevitable!
.
This is a transparent epistle. The wise will read and align his/her thinking progressively but the fo.ol will read and start trolling gabbages.
.
A yoruba adage says, "to avoid your eyes being punctured by the oncoming object, the eyes must look ahead and not down.
.
The fo.ols see progressive action as imposition. Who will open his/her eyes for log to enter?
.
Igi buruku ti o ba fe da pot OBE sonu, a ma yo kuro ni....

Tinubu just confirmed with Tom Ikimi said.

They are all the same. Like Tinubu like Tom ikimi

Tom Ikimi is just a very shameless man running back to his vomit

lakpalakpa: Ikimi can go and die, he is of no value to APC.

Please go back to the killer-party.

why is APC lossing members even before the main fight?

No matter what anyone may say about me it is unlikely that I can be accused of supporting incompetent or morally light-weight individuals for important political positions. My philosophy is to put the best forward, men and women of competence and integrity, who can stand up to us politicians to challenge us and say no when necessary. Such people are not noisy or able to gain attention by being loud, I believe my role is to do all I can to project them. Who in their right mind would compare the highly principled Chief Bisi Akande, or Chief Oyegun with a Tom Ikimi? Either of these two men are known for their no-nonsense styles, not once in their careers would you hear that they betrayed a cause or were anybody’s stooge.

Phew! Nice rebuttal.

ITbomb: If you read in between the lines, you would notice that Tinubu has actually confirm most of what Ikimi wrote.
1. Subversion of democratic tenets to edge out those not in your payroll and impose those you think are 'good' people.
2. Knowledge of Oando transaction. Running around whether he attended the said meeting or not.
3. Formation of APC and the party leader (sic).

If Ikimi were the Chair of APC the party would have to sleep with both eyes open lest its chairman sell off the party before day break.

His defection purportedly on account of the loss of the chairmanship of the party is a mere subterfuge, once his ploy failed he had no other objective within the party, I knew he would go back to his sponsors. He is back in the company he deserves. And APC is better for it.

Gbawe: Brilliant rebuttal to the attention-seeking midchief of Ikimi.

U can say that again. Tinubu is absolutely right especially with his num 1 reason judging by Ikimi's outburst simply because he thought APC was his private property, he couldn't have been trusted.

Chigold101: why is APC lossing members even before the main fight?

PDP supporters are just mad that the Ikimi they sponsored to become APC Chairman did not work. God bless Tinubu and others for having foresight.

Keneking: Nonsense write -up

write up wasnt meant for block heads like u.

glinty: Medicine after death. The deed is already done. No amount of blackmail or backlash will fill the void Tom Ikimi left.

which void? tom ikimi is a nonentity.....

Keneking: Nonsense write -up

PDP investment failed, stop crying. Jonathan and the members of his coven wanted to control the chairman's position in APC. It failed. Nigerians on the move to crush PDP. Up APC!

That is the problem with APC members and supporters. Quick to abuse and term someone as ‘irrelevant’ to the ‘APC cause’. Empires and emperors have been annihilated by peasants. Don’t underestimate anybody has been my philosophy. A little can make a difference.

This makes sense to me.

Lol apc people sha. They love Tom Ikimi 4 months back. Now that he is in disagreement with Tinubu, he is corrupt and lacks integrity.

Who is decieving who

[color=#000099][/color]

Sirniyeh: When you dont know the purpose of a thing, abuse is inevitable!
.
This is a transparent epistle. The wise will read and align his/her thinking progressively but the fo.ol will read and start trolling gabbages.
.
A yoruba adage says, "to avoid your eyes being punctured by the oncoming object, the eyes must look ahead and not down.
.
The fo.ols see progressive action as imposition. Who will open his/her eyes for log to enter?
.
Igi buruku ti o ba fe da pot OBE sonu, a ma yo kuro ni....