Former Lagos State Governor and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has described his relationship with the governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola as intact.
Tinubu is speaking against the backdrop of media reports that he is angry with Fashola for supporting an aspirant for the just concluded governorship primary election in Lagos State, even when he said he is not supporting anyone.
A former Accountant General of Lagos state, Akinwumi Ambode, believed to be the anointed candidate of Tinubu defeated 13 other aspirants including Supo Shasore believed to be supported by Fashola, but Tinubu is reported to have said the bad blood generated before and during the primary would have been avoided if Fashola had opened up to him about who he was supporting.
However, Tinubu has come out to deny having any problem with Fashola, describing the report as work of charlatans and enemies spreading unnecessary rumours.
The statement by Tinubu reads.
For a while now, I have noticed and read many published political stories on Lagos politics in particular and the personalities involved that are either concerted, unsubstantiated, pure conjectures or outright falsehood. In this instance, I reference a recent story ran by a major newspaper concerning my successor and me. There is no doubt political charlatans and enemies are at work fueling unnecessary rumour and insinuations and seeking to drive a wedge in an otherwise cordial and respectful political relationship. My relationship with Governor Fashola remains cordial both at the personal level and at the level of commitment to ensuring Lagos State remains on the path of political stability, growth and development.
Whether Governor Fashola had a specific candidate or not isn’t the issue here. What is important is to have a transparent process in the spirit of democracy to which we both subscribe. We often debate, agree or disagree. But when it comes to concluding on the interest of Lagos State, we are on the same page. The current situation and issues around the Lagos Gubernatorial primary are being overblown. What we have done is ensure that no one is denied his or her rights to participate and compete for any elective position. Such a disposition should not translate into anger and divisiveness of the party as it is being peddled. Conflicts and disagreements is part of every political process. The capacity to solve these conflicts in-house and not on the pages of newspaper is a tradition in Lagos.
We warn the people of Lagos state against speculative, self-serving stories aimed at destabilizing the party and its leadership. The media must be weary of accepting or publishing stories that seek to pursue a narrow political agenda. Rather, they should make their paper a platform for proper news dissemination and constructive analysis such that can help our country tackle the current security problem, create jobs.
While we appreciate, recognize and respect the right of every media house to publish any story, it is important not to be part of the feeding frenzy and not to mislead the unsuspecting public.
At my age and with my level of political experience, I am expected to seek for solutions, work for reconciliations and find a common ground where disagreements exist. That is what I have dedicated myself to in the larger interest of Lagos State and Nigeria at large. That is what Governor Babatunde Fashola and myself are about. That is what Lagos state deserves as Nigeria’s pacesetter in terms of democracy and development.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
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