Former Lagos state governor, Bola
Tinubu has distanced himself from the recent attacks on former Lagos Governor,
Raji Fashola. In a statement released from his media office today August 26th,
Tinubu accused PDP of working towards causing a division in the APC after
losing woefully in the last elections. He said no matter the devise used, APC
will always surmount it. He went on to state that his hand and heart are not in
any way connected to the recent attacks on the credibility of the Fashola-led
administration. His statement in part reads;
“Apprised of their wiles, we in
the progressive camp must be wiser still. We must not allow ourselves to be
pawns in this cynical strategy. We cannot fall into their obvious snares for
that would be embracing defeat when victory has already been won. It is our
responsibility to govern as the people want. It would be to our detriment to
fall victim to our opponent’s sly instigations by allowing ourselves to be
utensils picking each other apart. This brings me to recent developments
in the Lagos political scene. Born of this motley stew is the recent gossip
mongering that I have willfully instigated false and negative reports against
former Governor Fashola to thwart him from being appointed to a major post in
the Buhari administration. I want to declare clearly and categorically that
these rancid attacks do not come from me nor do I endorse them. Neither my hand
nor my heart is in these mean submissions. I deplore them. An attack against
the performance of Governor Fashola is indirectly an attack against me and the
edifice of achievements we have constructed in leading Lagos State out of a
protracted time of stagnation and into an era of sustained progress and
development. Lagos is a much better place than when we came into
governance in 1999. Each year, it has gotten better. With the APC at the helm,
each subsequent year will be better yet. Babatunde Fashola has been an integral
part of this improvement. He does not deserve the pillory. His record has been
applauded and will continue to be when all this rumor mongering has died its
natural and quick death. I am proud to say that I played an instrumental
role in bringing Governor Fashola into politics in the first instance. He
served as my trusted chief of staff, performing excellently in that role. Due
to his leadership qualities and diligent work ethic, I endorsed him for
governor notwithstanding the stiff and vocal opposition of many. I am not
ashamed of backing him. I believe the progress the state made under his
administration has more than vindicated my endorsement. Fashola, the
present Governor Akin Ambode including myself are the products of a progressive
political institution and its programmatic expressions. I laid the governance
foundation and started the first lap, running as well as I could. I handed the
baton to Fashola, knowing he would do the same. He did; he ran as well as he
could. Now, he has handed to Ambode who is off and running as well as he can.
We have achieved much in Lagos; but, we recognise as much as anyone that we
have much more to do. We also know that progress is fragile and easily
undone while destruction is easily transacted but hard to undo. I for one am not
the type to tear down my own house or to bring my enemy’s rubbish into
it. We must remember something. We have always governed Lagos state as an
open forum where democracy and free expression were respected. Those who are
against us were never placed in fear of the heavy hand of government descending
on them even as they played funny tricks. We also must remember than in any
democracy, a number of people will always oppose you no matter the quality of
your performance. If an office holder has an approval rating of 70 per cent,
this means, in Lagos, roughly five million people dislike the person. Also
remember the PDP is just recently out of office at the federal level and that
it built a vast, unprecedented financial war chest to contest the elections.
The residual of that war chest is still at work, buying media space to plant
rumors in hopes of spreading discord through the APC. Thus, the enemy camp may
be a minority but it is a large and well-funded one that knows its only chance
lies in us attacking ourselves.
“I for one will not bend to the
artificial provocation of those seeking to tear at what we have painstakingly
built over the years. In my mind, Governor Fashola and I are and shall always
be political allies and fellow travelers on a vital journey; that alliance is
unshakeable and our journey must not be interrupted. I would no more attack his
character or his administration than I would attack myself. I see this
present moment as crucial to Nigeria’s future. The nation faces acute
challenges of security, corruption and economic development. Our task is to
create policies that bring prosperity, dignity and hope to all. Great change is
in reach because we have progressive governments at the federal and state
levels for the first time. With great change at hand, it would be a terrible
abdication of our duty to allow agents provocateur to prompt us to suspect and
toss dirt at each other at a time when we should be focused on building a
better, more equitable nation and society. I for one shall never allow
myself to be a tool of a political enemy that has nothing good in mind for
Nigeria. I for one will never engage in the intramural character attacks of
which I am being accused. I stand for the unity of the APC and for the
progressive purpose we serve. I will not be guilty of tearing down our
progressive house, not a brick of it. That I vow to all.”
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