Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), announced on Wednesday that he has forgiven Vice President Yemi Osinbajo ahead of the 2023 elections.
There has been speculation that the two are not on good terms as a result of Osinbajo’s decision to run against Tinubu in the APC presidential primary.
Tinubu stated on Wednesday, while addressing a Kano group that backed Osinbajo in the run-up to the APC presidential primaries, that he has nothing against the Vice President.
Tinubu’s forgiveness statement, on the other hand, has been described as insulting by the Osinbajo Support Movement (OSM).
The group that stated that there is room for political realignment noted that Osinbajo and Tinubu’s talk of forgiveness is both an insult and a provocation.
According to a statement issued by OSM’s national coordinator, Liberty Badmus, Osinbajo’s primary campaign against Tinubu was not illegal.
“While the OSM welcomes the need for the APC flagbearer and other presidential aspirants to come together,” the statement says, “the group rejects the use of the word “forgiveness” and the implications attached to it.”
“We note, as the flagbearer stated, that both the VP and himself have met at least twice since the primaries; any attempt to take a revisionist perspective by implying that an offence was committed because a sitting VP decided to run for President is an unmitigated insult, completely unnecessary, and such narratives should be completely discouraged.”
“We recall an APC Elders meeting in the Southwest ahead of the primaries where the aspirants resolved the issue, concluding that all aspirants had the right to contest.” The spirit of that meeting should be preserved, not a derogatory effort that undermines the unity required to move both the flagbearer and the aspirants, including the VP.”
The group warned that they would not accept being forced to support Tinubu’s agenda by every group or individual in the Vice President’s camp.
According to OSM, Osinbajo has stated unequivocally that they have the right to support the party’s candidate but have been warned not to mock them.
