Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has without wasting further time responded to Governor Rochas Okorocha’s statement.

Governor Rochas Okorocha and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Tinubu who spoke through his Media Aide, Tunde Rahman stated that: “We note the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha’s statement. It is important that the record of what Asiwaju Tinubu said when approached by journalists during his last visit to Akure is accurate. Thus, I make this statement in the hope of clarifying a misinterpretation that seems to have taken hold in some quarters.”

“I was at the interview session.  Asiwaju never said anything that could be interpreted as meaning or even implying that the governors are irrelevant or insignificant to the party’s nomination process.”

“As a former governor and a leading statesman within the party, such words would never come from him. Moreover, Asiwaju is a democrat who believes that the open and democratic processes of the APC, which led to the nomination of President Buhari in the first instance, have served the party well and have helped to distinguish the APC from the PDP and other parties where fairness and internal democracy are rare commodities.”

“Every individual has a right to endorse or support a candidate of his choosing. What Asiwaju said at that encounter and still canvasses is that the APC should not mimic the PDP’s penchant for short-circuiting internal democracy by promoting the idea of an automatic ticket.”

“The exercise of internal democracy and honouring the letter and spirit of party rules can only strengthen the party and enthuse its members. The APC’s all-inclusive philosophy was not devised today. It had been with the party since its creation.”