Mr Tunji Bello the secretary to Lagos state government, on Thursday, October 9, disagreed with John Paden’s account of how Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, emerged as Buhari’s running mate in the 2015 elections.


John Paden in his biography of President Muhammadu Buhari had insinuated that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu wanted to be Buhari’s running mate, but Osinbajo was picked instead.

However, Bello said the process of Osinbajo’s nomination started immediately after Buhari emerged as the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate at the party National Convention held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, on December 11, 2014.

In a statement he signed, Bello contradicted John Paden, stating that Bola Tinubu was the one who nominated Osinbajo for the position.

In his statement Bello, said that Tinubu had summoned a meeting to decide who would be Buhari’s running mate the morning after the President emerged the APC candidate.

He said: “I do not know how the author came about his story, but he totally got it wrong because what he wrote basically is based on falsehood that reeks of deliberate misinformation and mischief.

“I received a phone call from Asiwaju to see him the morning after Buhari emerged the APC candidate. “On my way to his house, I discovered that a car at a reasonable distance was that of former Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Dele Alake, who was, ostensibly, heading towards Asiwaju’s house in Ikoyi. “Asiwaju must have called him too for that task that could be explained underneath.

As soon as we arrived, Asiwaju quickly asked us to join him in his car as we headed to a Guest House. At the Guest House, former APC Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, Osinbajo and one renowned pastor joined us.

At the meeting, Asiwaju related to us the urgent need to pick a vice presidential candidate for the APC. He advised that we immediately discard the idea of his being nominated for the vice-presidential slot as it was no longer possible to pick a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“This, he reasoned, made sense if indeed we were to be realistic in our bid to defeat President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 election.

He reasoned that what was important and imperative at that time was to look for a good Christian nominee to complement President Mohammadu Buhari.”

Meanwhile, Femi Aribisala in a recent opinion had this to say about Tinubu: “The reality of Tinubu’s politics in Nigeria is that he can be a king-maker but will not be allowed to be king.

The best Tinubu has been able to achieve has been to nominate a vice-president who, to all intents and purposes, is not even a major power-broker in government. “As vice-president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has only succeeded in being a fall-guy; for the collapse of the naira and for the failure to date of the 2016 budget.”

http://www.unitednaija.com/2016/10/tinubu-picked-osinbajo-vice-president/