The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday called on the leadership of All Progressive Congress, (APC), as a matter of urgency to mandate the party’s executive, to accord the former governor of the state and national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the due respect and honour he deserves for the sacrifice he made before the emergence of APC’s government.
Tinubu had recently condemned the position taken by the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun over the Ondo governorship primary, which led to the emergence of Rotimi Akeredolu as the party’s flag bearer. In swift reaction, he called for his (Oyegun’s) immediate resignation.
Speaking at the plenary under “Matter of Public Urgency,” session, the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Mr. Tunde Braimoh and his colleagues queried the ‘silence’ of the presidency over the development. He added that, “given the years of sacrifice and financial commitments Tinubu had made for the emergence of APC in Nigeria’s political landscape and the nation’s democracy as a whole, he should be treated with honour.”
The lawmakers pointed out that, an insult to the personality of Tinubu was synonymous to an insult to the entire Yoruba race, especially given the leadership role he had played in the unification of the Yoruba nation.
Buraimoh said, “The entire situation does not bode 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 APC to call the party’s executive to order with a view to ensuring that adequate respect and honour is given to the leaders of the party, including Asiwaju Tinubu”.
In his submission, the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, who equally threw his weight behind the call, also argued that rather than be seen as being sympathetic to the whole development, President Muhammadu Buhari should play the role of a father and 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 APC in Nigeria can never be brushed aside,” Obasa said.
