Tinubu not serial defector like others – APC vice-chairman


The National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Salihu Lukman, in this interview with ADEBAYO FOLORUNSHO-FRANCIS, assesses the chances of all presidential candidates and states that the APC’s standard-bearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is ahead of others

Do you see your presidential candidate’s absence on the ballot since his re-election as governor in 2003 counting against him?

I actually raised the point of him not being on the ballot since 2003 on a positive note, just to demonstrate that he is not one of those I call election merchants. He wasn’t an election merchant. He had every reason to aspire in 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019. He had every reason to, but he didn’t. Instead, he engaged in politics differently in a way that produced a positive outcome in a different way.

What about Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso?

The same cannot be said of other candidates, whether Atiku, Kwankwaso, or Obi. Of course, I will not descend to the level of challenging their competence. They may be competent, but not in terms of personal integrity and trustworthiness.

Why did you say that?

Our candidate is about the only one, together with his running mate, that has not changed political parties on account of aspiring to contest elections. This means they are people with some level of consciousness and integrity. What that means is that trust can be invested in them more than in people, who, when they don’t get what they want in a particular spot, move to another place.


For me, these are the issues to highlight. We are ready to debate it as a party with anybody. Not the other issues about health challenges, what have you, or things that cannot be verified. These ones I mentioned are verifiable. I think these are some of the points.

What are your fears about APC’s weaknesses and strength ahead of the 2023 elections?

Let me tell you something. If I have any fear, it is about how to strengthen accountability and the capacity of the party to influence the initiative of elected officials. I have argued and I am still arguing that for us in the APC, what is required is for us to have the honesty to review and look at what we promised between 2015 and 2019. What are the gaps, and, of course, there are gaps that exist? What is it that needs to be done in order to address those gaps?

In addition to that, what are the new emerging challenges? What do we need to do as a party aspiring to continue to rule this country in order to address those challenges?

Now, there are challenges, which ordinarily are human challenges that we should desist from politicising. If we politicise them, we will get it wrong.

What sort of challenges are we looking at?

One such is security challenges, for instance, which have now been over-politicised. People wrongly said we used the same approach in 2014/15 against (Goodluck) Jonathan but it is not true.

In 2014/2015, Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party were completely in denial about those security challenges. If you remember when the Chibok Girls abduction happened, there was a delegation from Borno led by Governor Kashim Shettima himself. Remember, he was a sitting governor. What was the response of… What’s her name again?

… the First Lady, Patience Jonathan?

Yes, Patience, Jonathan. It was so bad that Kashim had to shed tears publicly. Nobody is saying, for instance, that what happened to the train between Kaduna – Abuja didn’t happen. Nobody is saying the attack on Kuje prison didn’t happen.

If anything, we are as aggrieved as any Nigerian. That’s because I could have been a victim of that attack too. I come from Kaduna and hardly spend two weeks without returning to Kaduna, I could have been on that train. It doesn’t matter whether I’m in the APC or the PDP. I mean, the same security challenge we all face. So just like every other Nigerian, I want the government to address this challenge immediately because I don’t know whether it will consume me. This is the reason why we don’t need to politicise it.

Aside from security and the economy, Buhari rode into power with promises to fix the refineries and power sector. Are you against the notion that the APC government has failed and returned Nigeria to primordial politics?...

Full story here; https://punchng.com/tinubu-not-serial-defector-like-others-apc-vice-chairman/

Of course we know that, he will never change his position from supporting corrupt people to climb to power or leaving the party when it became obvious that his party has messed up Nigeria.

This is the type of man that will never change Nigeria because he has a fixed mindset, people can all die, hunger and poverty can afflict Nigeria for the next 8 years but he will never change anything.

We don't want rigid minded people to continue ruling Nigeria with insensitivity.

[img]https://giffiles./216/216378.gif[/img]

Asiwaju is the man

But he's a serial thief....he can't be president




No! Never!

Una no get talk

This man is stylishly throwing jab at peter obi.

Vawulence is loading..

Is he referring to the APGA = PDP = LP candidate from Pandora or the PDP = ACN = PDP = APC = PDP candidate from Cameroon?