Senator Adesoji Akanbi has described as sheer jealousy attempts by some people to reduce the efforts of former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the ruling party in the country.
In a new book – ‘Against the Run of Play’, authored by the Chairman of ThisDay Editorial Board, Olusegun Adeniyi, the APC national leader had accused the Senate President Bukola Saraki, Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and other individuals of prevailing on Buhari not to pick him as the running mate for the 2015 election, to avoid a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Reacting to accusations that Tinubu was self-serving in wanting to be Buhari’s running mate, Akanbi, who represents Oyo South Senatorial District, Adesoji explained that it did not matter what people said about the APC chieftain, noting that their actions and reactions were that of envy.
According to the former Reps member, “It is jealousy – Asiwaju Tinubu is a man well-loved nationwide. He is not a sectional or religious leader. He warmly embraces all religions in the spirit of love and peace. He is the only member with fantastic influence across the country. Most of the other leaders in the party cannot boast of the influence Asiwaju wields. Let people say what they want to say.
“Those railing against Asiwaju Tinubu want to rewrite history. Can they achieve that? No. It is sheer jealousy to want to reduce Tinubu’s efforts to selfish acts – that’s incorrect. The APC would not have achieved any success without Tinubu in the 2015 presidential poll; there’s no doubt about that. Reasonable people will continue to praise whatever efforts and sacrifices that Asiwaju made. Remember what ex-President Goodluck Jonathan said about Tinubu that a man he feared most in the APC was Tinubu,” Akanbi told Punch.
