The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has said that there is no automatic ticket for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential election in the party.
According to him, a democratic process had to be observed in choosing who would fly the flag of the party.
Tinubu made his position known on Wednesday when he spoke with journalists in Akure, Ondo State, after a meeting with the leadership of the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere.
His position contradicts that of some state governors of the APC who said they had approved Buhari to run for the 2019 election.
The meeting was held at the residence of the leader of the group, Chief Reuben Fasoranti.
His words: “No governors can appropriate the power of endorsement to themselves. Buhari is a believer in due process.
“The Buhari I know believes in the rule of law. We wanted him even before the last convention and primary of the party and Akeredolu is here standing with me, he was not the governor then. He was one of the leading delegates that voted properly and Buhari was a clear winner.
“We followed all the constitutional provision and an individual or group’s opinion does not really matter at this stage. Buhari will want a normal process. Buhari that I know… Who says he will lose at any convention? But if the national body, the NEC (National Executive Committee) and all of us as members endorse him as our single candidate, we will not be violating INEC regulations, we will not be violating our party’s constitution.
“What you are hearing is just a campaign by other people who might like to do so. Buhari has not excluded anybody, and he has not infringed on anybody’s ambition if there is. We cannot be sycophantic about it.”
On his visit to Fasoranti, Tinubu said: “I am in Akure to acknowledge the leadership of Pa Fasoranti in our own race, as a great leader of the Omoluabi. In his evening, we want him to be happy, he has been a great leader in his youth.
READ ALSO: Tinubu to Buhari: Eradicate hunger, poverty
“His intellectual (capacity) is still very intact. We are here to seek his advice, seek his understandings and prayers; that is why I am here.”
It would be recalled that Tinubu had not been in good terms with the leadership of Afenifere since 2003 following its support which saw Chief Olusegun Obasanjo winning the presidential election at the period.
Answering a reporter’s question as to why it took him so long to visit the leadership of Afenifere, Tinubu said: “What is my decision is my decision and as an ‘ordinary reporter’, you cannot be asking me that.
“I decide on my time based on the charter of United Nations on Human Rights. I am a democrat and I believe in constitutional democracy.”
Chief Fasoranti has however described Tinubu’s visit as a sign of good things to come to the Yoruba race.
His words: “It is an indication of great things to come. With the coming together of Yoruba leaders, there will be an understanding on major issues affecting Yoruba race. We will consult and move ahead. As it is now, there will be a great understanding among the leaders as Tinubu is a leader in his own right.”
Present at the meeting were the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu; his deputy, Agboola Ajayi; the National Vice Chairman (South-west), Pius Akinyelure; and Chief Olu Falae.
Others present at the meeting were APC chieftain, Chief Bisi Akande; and the secretary of Afenifere, Seinde Arogbofa.
