In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, the national chairman of All Progressives Congress, (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, speaks on, how the former head of state emerged as the party’s presidential flag bearer, and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s influence on the party.
Read the excerpts below:
We have heard speculations that there was an underhand deal in the emergence of Buhari as the APC presidential candidate and that Rotimi Amaechi outspent people like Atiku Abubakar to make that possible. Is it true?
Look at me. This is John Oyegun you are talking to. I promised this nation totally free and fair primary. I will not tell you that money did not change hands but we told everybody clearly, if anybody offers you money, collect it but don’t ever act on the basis of the money. Every effort was made to get to sit down and twist my hands so we may have what is referred to as consensus candidate. I said no.
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It was all over the place because everybody thought we could not handle a democratic process but I said no, we are going to prove to this country that these things can be done. And whatever one spends cannot determine election outcomes. Let me not start being judgmental now because I am still chairman of the party.
Buhari had made it clear that he has no money to offer. He made that clear. He said, ‘money I don’t have to give you but am offering myself for service.’ Maybe I shouldn’t open up the details of most of these things because I heard
most of the things that went on.
But my insistence was that we are going to, as a party, prove that these things are possible. When it is transparent, people will accept the result. You saw what happened at our convention. The process was so transparent and was always totally at the guess of the Nigerian populace and the international community.
It was totally open all the time. All those that lose were gracious in defeat and accepted the outcome of the primary. I promised free, fair and transparent election and asked them (presidential candidates) to promise me something in return.
Many Nigerians have spoken about the power of former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, in the running of the APC and his role in the selection of the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates. How powerful is Tinubu in the affairs of APC?
Normally Tinubu is powerful. There is no question about that. That man is one of the greatest political strategists that I know. Go back into his history and don’t forget that he was one individual who stood against Obasanjo, refused to accept the compromises that his colleagues accepted and fought valiantly because he saw the future. He saw what was going to happen and he was right.
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Let’s get it clear; we must give people the credit that is due to them. It is because of that single act of courage and how he later devoted himself to cancelling the tragedy that was happening in the South-west when all of a sudden, the zone became “PDP”. He devoted himself to getting the zone back. See what happened subsequently and I tell people who have the ear to hear now, that but for his singular act of vision we may not be having the kind of progressive politics that we have in this country today. He has his failings but we must give a man the credit that is due to him.
So I accept Tinubu is a powerful force in Nigerian politics not just in the APC. He is somebody you cannot ignore because he is a dye-in-the-wood strategist. He is also somebody who puts his pocket where his mouth is and with that kind of combination, he certainly must have influence in the APC and in country’s political arena.
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