You can’t whittle down Tinubu’s power, lawmakers tell Oyegun, others

Lawmakers in the Lagos State House of Assembly have thrown their weights behind the embattled national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, saying the ex-Lagos governor’s political power and influence can never be whittled down by anybody.

The lawmakers made this stance known, following a move made by the chairman of the House Committee on Information and Strategy, Honourable Tunde Braimoh, who led his colleagues to drum up support for Tinubu, in the wake of a recent face-off he had with the national chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

Speaking under “Matter of Public Urgency,” session, during Tuesday’s plenary, Braimoh and others also questioned the ‘silence’ of the presidency over the development, especially given the “years of sacrifice and financial commitments” Tinubu had made for the emergence of the APC in Nigeria’s political landscape and the nation’s democracy as a whole.

Braimoh and other lawmakers also pointed out that an insult to the personality of Tinubu was synonymous with an insult to the entire Yoruba race, especially given the leadership role he (Tinubu) had played in the unification of Yoruba nation.

“The entire situation does not bid well for the internal democracy of our great party, and efforts must be put in place by all stakeholders to arrive at a quick resolution. Therefore, to achieve this, we call on the leadership of the APC to call the party’s executive to order, with a view to ensuing that adequate respect and honour is given to the leaders of the party, including Tinubu,” he said.

The move was supported by many members of the House, including some of the principal officers – Deputy Speaker, Wasiu Sanni-Eshilokun; Majority Leader, Sanai Agunbiade and the Deputy Majority Leader, Bayo Jimoh, who unanimously remarked that the “ongoing fight is not just against Tinubu, but against vision and posterity,” while also adding that  “Tinubu is too big a personality anybody could toy with.”

In his submission, the Speaker of the Assembly, Honourable Mudashiru Obasa, who equally threw his weight behind the call, also argued that rather than being seen as  apathetic to the whole development, President Muhammadu Buhari should play the role of a father who will truly unite everybody in the party.

“The signal coming from the presidency is not good enough. Appointments had been made without Tinubu’s knowledge, and major decisions had been made without adequate consideration given for his view and opinion. We believe this is not good enough and it is a sign of disrespect for a personality like Tinubu whose contributions to the consummation of the APC in Nigeria can never be brushed aside,” Obasa said.