Former Lagos state governor, Bola Tinubu has distanced
himself from the recent attacks on former Lagos Governor,
Raji Fashola. In a statement released from his media
office today August 26th, Tinubu accused PDP of working
towards causing a division in the APC after losing woefully
in the last elections. He said no matter the devise used,
APC will always surmount it. He went on to state that his
hand and heart are not in any way connected to the
recent attacks on the credibility of the Fashola-led
administration. His statement in part reads;
“Apprised of their wiles, we in the progressive camp must be
wiser still. We must not allow ourselves to be pawns in this
cynical strategy. We cannot fall into their obvious snares
for that would be embracing defeat when victory has
already been won. It is our responsibility to govern as the
people want. It would be to our detriment to fall victim to
our opponent’s sly instigations by allowing ourselves to be
utensils picking each other apart. This brings me to recent
developments in the Lagos political scene. Born of this
motley stew is the recent gossip mongering that I have
willfully 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. Lagos is a much better place than when we
came into governance in 1999. Each year, it has gotten
better. With the APC at the helm, each subsequent year will
be better yet. Babatunde Fashola has been an integral part
of this improvement. He does not deserve the pillory. His
record has been applauded and will continue to be when all
this rumor mongering has died its natural and quick
death. I am proud to say that I played an instrumental
role in bringing Governor Fashola into politics in the first
instance. He served as my trusted chief of staff,
performing excellently in that role. Due to his leadership
qualities and diligent work ethic, I endorsed him for
governor notwithstanding the stiff and vocal opposition of
many. I am not ashamed of backing him. I believe the
progress the state made under his administration has more
than vindicated my endorsement. Fashola, the present
Governor Akin Ambode including myself are the products
of a progressive political institution and its programmatic
expressions. I laid the governance foundation and started
the first lap, running as well as I could. I handed the
baton to Fashola, knowing he would do the same. He did; he
ran as well as he could. Now, he has handed to Ambode who
is off and running as well as he can. We have achieved
much in Lagos; but, we recognise as much as anyone that
we have much more to do. We also know that progress is
fragile and easily undone while destruction is easily
transacted but hard to undo. I for one am not the type to
tear down my own house or to bring my enemy’s rubbish into
it. We must remember something. We have always governed
Lagos state as an open forum where democracy and free
expression were respected. Those who are against us were
never placed in fear of the heavy hand of government
descending on them even as they played funny tricks. We
also must remember than in any democracy, a number of
people will always oppose you no matter the quality of your
performance. If an office holder has an approval rating
of 70 per cent, this means, in Lagos, roughly five million
people dislike the person. Also remember the PDP is just
recently out of office at the federal level and that 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 rumors 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
its only chance lies in us attacking ourselves.
“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 are
and shall always be political allies and fellow travelers on a
vital journey; that 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. I see this present moment as crucial to Nigeria’s
future. The nation faces acute challenges of security,
corruption and economic development. Our task is to create
policies that bring prosperity, dignity and hope to all.
Great change is in reach because we have progressive
governments at the federal and state levels for the first
time. With great change at hand, it would be a terrible
abdication of our duty to allow agents provocateur to
prompt us to suspect and toss dirt at each other at a time
when we should be focused on building a better, more
equitable nation and society. I for one shall never allow
myself to be a tool of a political enemy that has nothing
good in mind for Nigeria. I for one will never engage in the
intramural character attacks of which I am being accused.
I stand for the unity of the APC and for the progressive
purpose we serve. I will not be guilty of tearing down our
progressive house, not a brick of it. That I vow to all.”
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