The All Progressives Congress (APC) Candidate's meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo was praised by an organisation that backs Sen. Bola Tinubu's bid for the presidency, Asiwaju Project Beyond 2023.
The award was given on Wednesday in Abuja by the group's director general, Bar. Realwan Okpanachi, during a news conference.
Several APC leaders, including the governor of Ogun, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, were alongside Tinubu, according to NAN, who met with Obasanjo on Wednesday in his Abeokuta home. The meeting's contents were kept private.
Okpanachi claimed that the meeting's political interpretation favoured the former governor of Lagos State's presidential aspirations. He characterised Obasanjo and Tinubu as two outstanding leaders who desire the best for Nigeria and are prepared to cooperate to accomplish this goal.
The director-general said that Obasanjo's visit was a covert endorsement of his principle, and he assured Nigerians that they should expect more of the same from other national leaders who, in his opinion, had faith in Tinubu's ability to govern the country.
The meeting, he continued, had also disproved earlier theories that the two presidents were political rivals.
“We, at Project Beyond 2023, commend the visit of our principal and the meeting he held with former president Olusegun Obasanjo today in Abeokuta.
“President Olusegun Obasanjo is a leader. He is a father, as far as Nigeria is concerned and the Southwest is concerned. And Asiwaju too is a leader and like a younger brother to Obasanjo. They are brothers.
“They are friends too, though people from outside make it look as if they’re political enemies, but they are not.
“They both have good hearts as leaders. So there’s nothing new about the visit, rather it is part of the ongoing consultation and homecoming for Asiwaju.
“And you can see that Nigerians have decided for us, Obasanjo does not want to see himself stand in the way of Nigerians as far as this election is concerned.
“It is a tacit approval and endorsement for us, you will see that the whole thing will come out to play.
“All the who is who in this country, including Obasanjo are in support because they believe in Tinubu’s capacity to reposition this country.
“They believe in his capacity to develop this country and bring it to where it should be among the comity of nations.
“They know what he achieved in Lagos as a governor, which is a micro Nigeria.
“If given the opportunity, he can replicate and do better in at the national level. And that is why you see all the leaders are coming together in one accord to give support as well you starting with Obasanjo visit today.
“You are going to see many leaders identifying and endorsing so as time goes on,” he said.
He went further to give an insight of the group which has been in existence for 13 years, saying it is different from other political support groups.
“For 13 years now, we have been assisting as a grassroots foundation propagating Asiwaju. We have been canvassing for people to believe and spread his political ideology. This was before he indicated interest in contesting for 2023 election.
“Our group is intelligence-driven, we are into data collation. We are there to provide a platform for you to become president and even after becoming president, we are there to continue to be involved in policy formulation.
“We are going to be interfacing between Nigerians and the government. It therefore means that it is not all about the election, it is beyond the election.
”We are going to be actively involved before, during and even after the election, to be sure that will hold the government accountable and responsible,” he added.