Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress's presidential standard-bearer, has said that he is unsure whether to leave the party's leadership in Lagos in the care of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Governor's Advisory Council while in Abuja trying to secure the presidential nomination.
“I left Lagos for Abuja, leaving the party members with Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat, leaders of the Governor’s Advisory Council and other party leaders. They are the ones who released me to go to Abuja to contest. I left with many doubts, and I was uncertain about what would be the fate of the party,” disclosed Mr Tinubu at the Lagos APC secretariat on Acme Road, Ogba, during the party’s caucus meeting.
He added, “I was constantly in touch with the governor and his deputy. Sometimes, I would call the party chairman and ask them if we were doing the right thing in Lagos. The reports they always gave me more courage and confidence to move on with my engagement in Abuja.”
Mr Tinubu said the team did “fairly” well in his absence.
“I thank all of our leaders for keeping the party stronger. I handed over to you an undefeated platform in Lagos. The manner with which the party affairs have been conducted shows these people have fairly managed the home base” stated the de facto leader of APC in Lagos.
He recalled that his journey to secure the party’s presidential nomination in Abuja was littered with uncertainties but said the support from Lagos APC leadership boosted his confidence to move on and win the primaries.
Mr Tinubu urged party supporters to move out to the communities in their numbers and canvass voters, telling the 57 local council chairpersons to reach out to aggrieved APC members at the grassroots to deliver more votes for APC in the 2023 general elections.
“Our local government chairmen must do better than any other person in delivering votes for our party. You met this party already built with structures across the communities,” he explained. “There may be little cracks here and there. You know what to do. Manage your anger. There is no politics without anger and pain. But with the pain comes the joy of victory.”
Mr Tinubu added, “We are giving you the assignment to go back and recruit others. We must forget about the opposition. Let’s put our effort into the voters. This is the time to reach out to aggrieved members and invite them back to the party fold. This is not the time to be angry and spill the beans. We must work together to achieve the bigger goal before us.”
(NAN)