In a bid to put paid to the rumour going round
that there’s a rift between the Lagos state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode and his
political god-father, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, he has described the rift as
untrue, adding that there is no fight anywhere.
There had been reports of a major rift between
Tinubu and Governor Ambode over an alleged disagreement on the second term bid
of the Governor.
Addressing party faithful at the APC
secretariat in Epe, Governor Ambode said the reports indicating a fight between
him and Tinubu were out of place.
“I want you to know that there is no fight
anywhere. The National Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and my good self we are not in
any fight, we are not in any controversy.
“We are praying to God that the best is yet to
come and the best will be what Lagos State deserves and I want you to just
continue with your prayers that at this time, God will show His hand and make
sure that everything that is of blessing to Lagos State and also blessing of
Epe will come to pass,” Governor Ambode said.
He commended all the leaders and members of
the party who contributed to the success of the delegates’ election in Epe,
saying APC remained the party to vote for.
“We have just concluded our Delegates’
Election in Epe Local Government and by consensus, we have picked our three
delegates that will be going to the National Convention come October 6 for the
Presidential direct primaries and the convention for all other people.
“I want to say a very big thank you to all our
delegates that are present here; I want to say a big thank you to all our
leaders that have also supported us to make sure that this event has come and
is done very successfully.
“I want to reiterate once again that our
party, All Progressives Congress (APC) remains the party to vote for; we are
the party at the national level and we are going to remain the party in the
State,” the Governor added.
The party leaders and faithful in the division
also took turns to affirm their unalloyed support for the second term bid of
the Governor
Youths in the division also staged a peaceful
protest displaying placards of various inscriptions to affirm their support for
the Governor’s second term bid.
Also, a social-political group, Lagos4Ambode
has come in defense of the governor of Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, over
his rumoured rift with his godfather, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a statement circulating in the social
media, the group claimed that ‘no issue whatsoever between Ambode and Tinubu’,
urging the public to ignore ‘detractors’.
On Tuesday, September 11, 2018, Asiwaju
Tinubu’s men reportedly endorsed a former commissioner, Jide Sanwoolu, to
replace Ambode in 2019, a move political analysts believe had Tinubu’s backing.
In a statement circulated by the group, it
said; “We want to state the facts clearly that 57 Local govt. chairmen in
Lagos, never signed any Aspirant’s form on the 10th of September 2018, or
attended any political gathering on that day. Most of them attended
Governor Ambode’s declaration in Ikeja and were called with the excuse of
urgent meeting to watercress hotel on Awolowo way in Ikeja. Getting there, they
met the political cowboys that ambushed them. ASIWAJU has distanced himself
from the political cowboys. Asiwaju being a true democrat, and the leader of
all of us, always encourages us to go into elective offices, whenever we go and
inform him of our ambition.
Therefore, anyone obtaining a gubernatorial
form for Lagos does not amount to Asiwaju opposing Governor Ambode who has done
him proud with his performance. Anyone claiming that Asiwaju has endorsed him
in a hotel in ikeja as the next governor of Lagos state, prior to the APC
direct primary is taking the party members for a ride, and taking the general
electorate for granted. The watercress show is purely a political move but we
all know we are in the season.
Ambode has not made any statement regarding
the aspirations of fellow APC members. Nor did he make any comments about his
Benefactor and our pathfinder ASIWAJU Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Detractors are now
very active in different angles and corners most especially on social media.
Some even went further to claim that Governor Ambode has moved to another
political party. They only want to create chaos for us all.
Ambode’s loyalty to ASIWAJU is total and his
commitment to Lagosians is Absolute and APC remains the only platform for his
aspiration.
Please let us ignore social media propaganda and be focused on our mission. Itesiwaju ipinle Eko, lo je wa logun.”
Please let us ignore social media propaganda and be focused on our mission. Itesiwaju ipinle Eko, lo je wa logun.”
The statement read.
