The All Progressives Congress National
Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has denied the allegation of sponsoring recent series of attacks against former Governor Babatunde Fashola of
Lagos State.
He related it to the whims and caprices of some mischief makers from the opposition political party in Lagos being the Peoples Democratic Party.
Tinubu, who is a
former governor of Lagos State, said this in a statement issued by his media
office on Wednesday.
Fashola,
according to a report on the state government’s website, spent N78.3m on his
personal website, www.tundefashola.com <http://www.tundefashola.com/> and
N139m to construct two boreholes at the Lagos House, Ikeja, when he was
governor.
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There had been
speculations that the reports were being sponsored by Tinubu as part of efforts
to discredit him and deny him the opportunity of being appointed a minister by
President Muhammadu Buhari.
However, Tinubu
said the allegations against him (Tinubu), were the handiworks of mischief
makers sponsored by the PDP.
The statement
partly read, “The PDP is just recently out of office at the federal level and
it built a vast, unprecedented financial war chest to contest the elections.
The residual of that war chest is still at work, buying media space to plant
rumours in hopes of spreading discord through the APC.
“Thus, the enemy
camp may be a minority but it is a large and well-funded one that knows it only
chance lies in us attacking ourselves.”
The APC leader
said he had nothing against his successor, Fashola. He said Fashola served the
state meritoriously for eight years.
He, therefore,
condemned those calling for Fashola’s probe.
He said any
criticism of Fashola was an indictment on him because he was instrumental to
making Fashola governor.
He said, “Our
political opponents now try to steal victory when their only entitlement is
resounding defeat. Having fared woefully with the electorate, their game plan
is to sow discord within the ranks of the party the people had chosen to lead
them. The PDP hopes to strike a division in the APC, in that way weakening us
and our ability to govern.
“This brings me
to recent developments in the Lagos political scene. Born of this motley stew
is the recent gossip mongering that I have wilfully instigated false and
negative reports against former Governor Fashola to thwart him from being
appointed to a major post in the Buhari administration.
“I want to
declare clearly and categorically that these rancid attacks do not come from me
nor do I endorse them. Neither my hand nor my heart is in these mean
submissions. I deplore them.
“An attack
against the performance of Governor Fashola is indirectly an attack against me
and the edifice of achievements we have constructed in leading Lagos State out
of a protracted time of stagnation and into an era of sustained progress and
development.”
He said he and
Fashola will forever remain close because they had struggled together.
He said having
ensured that his party retained Lagos for over 16 years, it would be unwise of
him to pull down what he helped build.
He added, “I for
one will not bend to the artificial provocation of those seeking to tear at
what we have painstakingly built over the years. In my mind, Governor Fashola
and I alliance is unshakeable and our journey must not be interrupted. I would
no more attack his character or his administration than I would attack myself.”