•Tinubu
•‘I’ll remain true to progressive ideals’
All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Tinubu yesterday said he would not quit the party, warning that any indulgence in destructive politics is counter-productive.
He said having laboured along with like-minded patriots to build the national party, he would not abandon the platform because its formation was informed by progressive ideals.
The former Lagos State governor reflected on the ruling party in the wake of unfounded speculations by “fifth columnists” that he had opened talks with opposition elements on establishing a formidable platform to battle for power against the APC in the 2019 elections.
There have been media reports about the prospects of a new party in the first quarter of next year, following the re-alignment of forces.
According to the speculation, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, had been reaching out to prominent APC chieftains, including Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko and his Kano State counterpart, Senator Rabiu Kwakwanso, to concretise the plan for an alternative broad-based party.
But, in his tweets yesterday, the former Lagos governor dismissed the reports as fabrication, saying that he would not “engage in destructive pettiness.”
Tinubu said: “This is a party I laboured with others to build. We would not abandon it for another. Millions of Nigerians who voted are watching and praying.”
The frontline politician acknowledged that in the collective progressive thirst for a better Nigeria, the journey may be laced with many obstacles, mistakes and inevitable challenges that must be tackled to get to the promised land.
Tinubu stressed: “In our Journey to national betterment, plans and policies will be made, then amended. Mistakes will occur and then corrected. Achievements will be recorded and replicated. Through it all, I, Asiwaju will remain true to the progressive ideals that fuelled the creation of APC.”
The Third Republic senator said the onus was on him as one of the APC founding fathers to strive at erecting lasting legacies, instead of regressing to destructive tactics.
He also vowed to elevate national interest above individual interest, pointing out that the APC was established to defend a national purpose and better the lot of Nigerians.
Tinubu said: “”I have devoted my political life to achieve what has been achieved. My heart is too much of the people and my mind too fixed on establishing positive historic legacy… rather than engage in destructive pettiness.
“This government of APC is for the betterment of the people and the national purpose is bigger and more important than any individual’s desires.”
