The Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Tunji Bello, has
described the President Muhammadu Buhari’s authorised
biographer,Buhari,
, as a peddler of falsehood, who was on a mission to distort
history and put the entire society at a disadvantage.
Bello, in a write-up on Thursday, described as sad and
mischievous the claim by Paden that a national leader of the All
Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, was strongly opposed to the
choice of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as Buhari’s running mate in the 2015
presidential election.
He said it was surprising and painful that the distortion of
history was coming not only at an early stage of the APC’s reign
but also within the ruling party’s camp, adding that it would have
been understandable if the falsehood had emanated from the
opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
Paden, a biographer authorised by Buhari, had on Monday in Abuja
publicly presented a book he titled, “Muhammadu Buhari: The
Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria.”
In the book, Paden wrote that contrary to popular belief that
Tinubu was the one who chose Osinbajo as Buhari’s running mate,
Tinubu was actually personally interested in the position and was
vehemently opposed to the choice of Osinbajo.
Paden wrote that despite much pressure from Tinubu, Buhari,
however, settled for Osinbajo out of three names – Tinubu, Osinbajo
and Babatunde Fashola – which were forwarded to Buhari.
But Bello, in his write-up titled, “How Tinubu nominated
Osinbajo,” lambasted Paden, saying the professor’s book was
“basically based on falsehood that reeks of deliberate
misinformation and mischief.”
Bello, who said he was part of the process that led to the
emergence of Osinbajo as Buhari’s running mate at Tinubu’s
instance, wondered where Paden got his story from.
He narrated how on a Saturday morning in mid December 2014,
shortly after Buhari was picked as the APC standard bearer, Tinubu
arranged a meeting in an unnamed guest house in Lagos, with the
then National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande; a former
Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dele Alake;
Osinbajo, an unnamed “renowned pastor,” and Bello himself in
attendance.
Bello said at the meeting, Tinubu expressed the concern as to
the need to pick a Christian as Buhari’s running mate because it
had become unwise for the party to present a Muslim-Muslim ticket
for the presidential election.
According to Bello, Akande had said Tinubu was the best
candidate suited as Buhari’s running mate, arguing that the
Muslim-Muslim ticket had been fielded in Nigeria before in the case
of the late MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe.
Tinubu, according to Bello, however, countered that the dynamics
of politics had since changed.
He later nominated Osinbajo, who was readily accepted by the
gathering based on his credential as a professor of Law, a
Christian, a pastor and in view of his antecedent as a former
Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State and
his marriage to a granddaughter of the late Chief Obafemi
Awolowo.
Bello said, “At the meeting, Asiwaju related to us the urgent
need to pick a vice-presidential candidate for the APC. He advised
that we should 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
Presidential election. He reasoned that what was important and
imperative at that time was to look for a good Christian nominee to
complement President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I remember Baba Akande responded that he would still have
preferred that Asiwaju should be the running mate since it had been
done before. Baba Akande was obviously referring to the MKO Abiola/
Babagana Kingibe nomination. Asiwaju responded by distinguishing
the political equation then from what was before us at that point
in time. He foreclosed that scenario as no longer possible. We all
voiced our opinions, and at the end of the day, it was resolved
that we had to get a Christian candidate.
“It was at this point that Asiwaju reminded us to be fast in
coming up with an option because he felt other geographical zones
were also jostling for the same position, reiterating the need for
the South-West to get it, as a must.
“Asiwaju audaciously told us that left to him, and if he were to
pick anyone, he would suggest Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. That Osinbajo,
apart from being a brilliant legal luminary, is also a committed
progressive and democrat. And having been married to the late
Obafemi Awolowo’s granddaughter, it would not be a problem selling
him to the old political establishment of the South-West for
acceptance.
“He asserted that Alake and myself having served in his cabinet
could attest to the great works he did as the Attorney General
during his (Asiwaju’) administration as governor of Lagos State. He
also reasoned that the second major factor in favour of Osinbajo
was the fact that he is a strong Christian and one that he is
already a Pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
“In the long run, Osinbajo’s nomination was well received by all
of us at that meeting and Prof. Osinbajo was asked to start
detailing with us, further strategy sessions to which he brought
out his laptop and we all commenced a brainstorming session. The
rest of the discussion was to strategise on how to contain other
likely opponents from the South-West zone before proceeding to
Abuja to battle other regions in the coming nomination.”
Bello described as a matter of concern a situation where a
renowned intellectual like Paden “would write a book and begins to
redefine events in his own way by abashedly evading facts that are
bellowing in the public space in order to re-create a world of
make-believe for his audience.”
The post I know how Tinubu picked Osinbajo, says Lagos
SSG appeared first from online sources and was reposted by the community on Welcome to 9jalegal –
Nigeria’s Leading Legal Information and Services Portal.
No related posts.
The Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Tunji Bello, has
described the President Muhammadu Buhari’s authorised
biographer,Buhari,
, as a peddler of falsehood, who was on a mission to distort
history and put the entire society at a disadvantage.
Bello, in a write-up on Thursday, described as sad and
mischievous the claim by Paden that a national leader of the All
Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, was strongly opposed to the
choice of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as Buhari’s running mate in the 2015
presidential election.
He said it was surprising and painful that the distortion of
history was coming not only at an early stage of the APC’s reign
but also within the ruling party’s camp, adding that it would have
been understandable if the falsehood had emanated from the
opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
Paden, a biographer authorised by Buhari, had on Monday in Abuja
publicly presented a book he titled, “Muhammadu Buhari: The
Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria.”
In the book, Paden wrote that contrary to popular belief that
Tinubu was the one who chose Osinbajo as Buhari’s running mate,
Tinubu was actually personally interested in the position and was
vehemently opposed to the choice of Osinbajo.
Paden wrote that despite much pressure from Tinubu, Buhari,
however, settled for Osinbajo out of three names – Tinubu, Osinbajo
and Babatunde Fashola – which were forwarded to Buhari.
But Bello, in his write-up titled, “How Tinubu nominated
Osinbajo,” lambasted Paden, saying the professor’s book was
“basically based on falsehood that reeks of deliberate
misinformation and mischief.”
Bello, who said he was part of the process that led to the
emergence of Osinbajo as Buhari’s running mate at Tinubu’s
instance, wondered where Paden got his story from.
He narrated how on a Saturday morning in mid December 2014,
shortly after Buhari was picked as the APC standard bearer, Tinubu
arranged a meeting in an unnamed guest house in Lagos, with the
then National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande; a former
Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dele Alake;
Osinbajo, an unnamed “renowned pastor,” and Bello himself in
attendance.
Bello said at the meeting, Tinubu expressed the concern as to
the need to pick a Christian as Buhari’s running mate because it
had become unwise for the party to present a Muslim-Muslim ticket
for the presidential election.
According to Bello, Akande had said Tinubu was the best
candidate suited as Buhari’s running mate, arguing that the
Muslim-Muslim ticket had been fielded in Nigeria before in the case
of the late MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe.
Tinubu, according to Bello, however, countered that the dynamics
of politics had since changed.
He later nominated Osinbajo, who was readily accepted by the
gathering based on his credential as a professor of Law, a
Christian, a pastor and in view of his antecedent as a former
Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State and
his marriage to a granddaughter of the late Chief Obafemi
Awolowo.
Bello said, “At the meeting, Asiwaju related to us the urgent
need to pick a vice-presidential candidate for the APC. He advised
that we should 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
Presidential election. He reasoned that what was important and
imperative at that time was to look for a good Christian nominee to
complement President Muhammadu Buhari.
“I remember Baba Akande responded that he would still have
preferred that Asiwaju should be the running mate since it had been
done before. Baba Akande was obviously referring to the MKO Abiola/
Babagana Kingibe nomination. Asiwaju responded by distinguishing
the political equation then from what was before us at that point
in time. He foreclosed that scenario as no longer possible. We all
voiced our opinions, and at the end of the day, it was resolved
that we had to get a Christian candidate.
“It was at this point that Asiwaju reminded us to be fast in
coming up with an option because he felt other geographical zones
were also jostling for the same position, reiterating the need for
the South-West to get it, as a must.
“Asiwaju audaciously told us that left to him, and if he were to
pick anyone, he would suggest Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. That Osinbajo,
apart from being a brilliant legal luminary, is also a committed
progressive and democrat. And having been married to the late
Obafemi Awolowo’s granddaughter, it would not be a problem selling
him to the old political establishment of the South-West for
acceptance.
“He asserted that Alake and myself having served in his cabinet
could attest to the great works he did as the Attorney General
during his (Asiwaju’) administration as governor of Lagos State. He
also reasoned that the second major factor in favour of Osinbajo
was the fact that he is a strong Christian and one that he is
already a Pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God.
“In the long run, Osinbajo’s nomination was well received by all
of us at that meeting and Prof. Osinbajo was asked to start
detailing with us, further strategy sessions to which he brought
out his laptop and we all commenced a brainstorming session. The
rest of the discussion was to strategise on how to contain other
likely opponents from the South-West zone before proceeding to
Abuja to battle other regions in the coming nomination.”
Bello described as a matter of concern a situation where a
renowned intellectual like Paden “would write a book and begins to
redefine events in his own way by abashedly evading facts that are
bellowing in the public space in order to re-create a world of
make-believe for his audience.”
The post I know how Tinubu picked Osinbajo, says Lagos
SSG appeared first from online sources and was reposted by the community on Welcome to 9jalegal –
Nigeria’s Leading Legal Information and Services Portal.
No related posts.
.. http://9jalegal.com.ng/featured/i-know-how-tinubu-picked-osinbajo-says-lagos-ssg/