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When The Lion Of Bourdillon Storms Villa by Vcojuro: 12:35am On Jul 19, 2015 |
While the Peoples Democratic Party administration of
former President Goodluck Jonathan lasted, I did not
see the national leader of the All Progressives
Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, inside the Villa. I
cannot say as a matter of finality that he did not
come. This is because experience has taught me that
reporters can only see those authorities want them
to see. They can decide to receive visitors who do not
want to attract media attention at ungodly hours,
which is always the time of nocturnal meetings or
meet such people in locations in the Villa that are
strictly out of bounds to journalists.
Since his party man, President Muhammadu Buhari,
came on board, it was taken for granted that the
former governor of Lagos State would be a regular
face in the seat of power. But it has never been so.
The situation further fuelled speculations that he and
the President had fallen apart shortly after the March
presidential election.
When news filtered in that the President would be
breaking his Ramadan fast on Wednesday with some
APC chiefs and that Asiwaju, popularly known as the
Lion of Bourdillon, was among the expected guests,
journalists decided to stay back in case the former
governor turned up.
At about 6pm, the President’s guests started arriving.
Many of those who were part of the first set of guests
to arrive were not known faces. At a point, former
governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, arrived. A
former member of the National Assembly, Senator
Olorunimbe Mamora and some others also arrived.
Not long after, we saw Asiwaju from afar while he
was scaling through the last security check. Behind
him was the National Publicity Secretary of the party,
Alhaji Lai Muhammed, and a few others.
Venue of the event was the new Banquet Hall. Some
guests who had arrived earlier were standing at the
lobby, armed with fruits or cups of water or juice
provided by the stewards. Some others went to the
mosque near the President’s office to offer prayers
before breaking their fast. |
Re: When The Lion Of Bourdillon Storms Villa by Vcojuro: 12:36am On Jul 19, 2015 |
By the time Tinubu stepped into the lobby, the
atmosphere changed. Almost all the politicians
standing there wanted to greet and pose for
photographs with him. With the exchange of
pleasantries over, the guests were led into the main
hall. The former Lagos State governor and Amaechi
joined Buhari on the same table with another two
elderly men.
There was no room for wasting of time. Immediately
the opening prayer was said, it was time to eat. While
others were asked to walk to any of the two serving
points to help themselves with any of the food
available, those on the President’s table were asked
to remain seated as stewards would serve them.
Rice, pap, salad, tuwo, moin moin, dodo, vegetable,
fish pepper soup, fresh fish, snail and assorted
meats featured prominently on the menu. There
were enough to eat.
With the “stomach infrastructure” session over,
Tinubu was asked to speak on behalf of the group. He
thanked the President for hosting them and
promised continued support for his administration.
He had words for those accusing Buhari of being too
slow. He said the President could not clear PDP’s 16-
year mess in 30 days.
Buhari also thanked his guests for joining him at the
event. He appreciated their contributions to his
success at the poll while tracing the history of the
merger that gave birth to the APC.
His address marked the end of the event. Tinubu was
again asked to lead other guests out to the lobby
where they shook hands and posed for photographs
with the President one after the other. With that
arrangement, Tinubu was the first person to step out
of the building after shaking hands with Buhari. He
stepped into the waiting hands of reporters who had
laid ambush for him with their cameras. |
Re: When The Lion Of Bourdillon Storms Villa by Vcojuro: 12:37am On Jul 19, 2015 |
The former governor was visibly reluctant to speak
with journalists, especially on the crisis rocking his
party as a result of the leadership crisis in the
National Assembly. He had not spoken publicly on
the matter but it seemed we succeeded in boxing him
into a corner. He had to talk and he decided to
choose his words carefully.
“That (the leadership crisis in the National Assembly)
is an area where I am very cautious of my position
and utterances. I still want to keep my side of
interpretation or analysis to me to be able to achieve
a resolution of the matter as quickly as possible. I am
backing all the President has carefully enumerated
and articulated to the party. The party is supreme.
The party must have disciplined leadership and
followers. The party’s process must be respected
because that is the confidence and the trust of the
people,’ he went on and on as the tape kept rolling.
Tinubu also used the opportunity of his first interview
with State House correspondents to dispel rumours
that he and Buhari are no longer on the same page
because of some demands he was alleged to have
made. “I have no demand on the party. If you
understand what party politics and leadership are all
about, they are about loyalty and commitment to the
values that leadership believes in. I believe in what
the President believes in. I respect him and I stand
firmly loyal to his cause. You can go to any length of
speculation that you might want. I have not
responded to all of that because I understand the
President and the President understands me clearly,”
he said. |
Re: When The Lion Of Bourdillon Storms Villa by Vcojuro: 12:38am On Jul 19, 2015 |
By the time the interview was going on, many APC chiefs such as Chief Audu Ogbeh and others joined Tinubu. One of his aides who joined him midway quickly started using his smartphone to record the interview for reasons best known to him. It was the same man who quickly said “thank you gentlemen” when his boss finished answering the third question, a clever way of stopping the interview. At the end of the short interaction, APC chiefs still milled around Tinubu as he made his way out of the premises. Buhari and the PDP governors Those who think that state governors elected on the platform of the PDP may not be having the listening ears of the President may have a rethink soon. I can say authoritatively that apart from when he met all the 36 state governors and later met with APC governors, most of those who have been having one- on-one meetings with Buhari are PDP governors. Last week, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State met with Buhari. This week, two PDP governors met separately with the President. Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi met him on Wednesday while it was the turn of Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State on Thursday. The three of them agreed that elections were over and there was the need for all political gladiators to come together with a common goal of improving the living conditions of those who voted them into office. All of them were however smart enough to quickly explain in their encounters with State House correspondents that their meetings with the President were not indications of any plan to defect from the PDP to the ruling party. Barka de Sallah. Source:http://www.punchng.com/columnists/aso-rock-lens-columnists/when-the-lion-of-bourdillon-storms-villa/ |
Re: When The Lion Of Bourdillon Storms Villa by Tecnonews24: 1:50am On Jul 19, 2015 |
I guess this is what u are pay to Do. carry on OP. |
Re: When The Lion Of Bourdillon Storms Villa by aminho(m): 3:52am On Jul 19, 2015 |
Blessings |
Re: When The Lion Of Bourdillon Storms Villa by Praisemelody(m): 4:20am On Jul 19, 2015 |
hmmmmm, APC and their wahala |
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