Tinubu’s utterances contributed to Buhari’s unwillingness to support him for President

Tinubu’s utterances contributed to Buhari’s unwillingness to support him for President

President Muhammadu Buhari’s seeming I-don’t-care attitude towards the 2023 presidential election is causing anxiety in the ruling All Progressives Congress, especially among the supporters of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the party’s presidential candidate.

With just few weeks to the elec­tion, scheduled to take place on February 25, 2023, some of Tinubu’s loyalists believe the presidency is not doing much in terms of support and logistics for the party’s presidential election

Last month, the president said Nigerians should vote for whoever they like from whichever political party during the 2023 general elections.

While members of the opposition parties have hailed the president for his statement, some Tinubu’s supporters did not find it funny.

Speaking with Daily Independent, an APC chieftain and member of the Tinubu Support Organisation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they had hoped Pres­ident Buhari will do much in canvassing support for Tinubu, especially in the Northern parts of the country where he (Buhari) has a cult followership but that is not happening.

“Of course, you cannot compare the support the president is giving to Asi­waju to what former Pres­ident Olusegun Obasanjo gave to the late Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007.

“Obasanjo campaigned with Yar’Adua across the country but that is not happening now. It is Asiwaju that has been using his vast political network to garner support for himself, not much support is coming from the presidency.

“I think the president should do more. Asiwaju made a lot in his campaign to become president in 2015.

“Even in 2019 when the party was in crisis and Buhari’s reelection was under threat, he called Asiwaju to reconcile the party and he did an excellent job”.

On his part, a former member of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) from one of the South-South states believes that Tinubu’s utterances may have contributed to the president’s unwilling­ness to throw himself fully behind his aspiration.

“I really can’t say the president is not supporting him. If you remember in June, he donated his campaign office to Tinubu shortly after he won the presidential primary.

“However, some people have also argued that Tinubu’s utterances may also have contributed to the issue. Remember what Papa Akande reported him to have said about Buhari in his book ‘My Participations’.

“Also Tinubu went to Ogun State and said with­out him, Buhari couldn’t have become president and also said some other things out of annoyance like since Buhari became president, he has never begged him for anything.

“The nation­al chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, even threatened to punish him then. So, naturally one ex­pects the president to be unhappy”.