By Harry Awurumibe, State House, Abuja
The national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that it is too early to talk about succession plans now ahead of 2023.
Tinubu who paid an unscheduled visit to President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday afternoon at the Presidential Villa, Abuja told State House Correspondents that time for politics is not now.
Asked to shed more light on where he thinks APC will zone the Presidency in 2023 in the face of Northern groups insisting that power will remain in the North, the former Lagos state governor said that 2023 is not now hence the talks of who gets what should not arise now.
According to him, “I maintain that time is not now. The president just won an election. And the President is busy signing out the budget. He’s working for the people of this country. Yes, a restlessness of politics is going to be there.
“But, any lover of this country will not talk about the succession plans yet. That is the truth. Concentrate on working for the country, help the country, help the President to help the country.”
He also argued that “It’s not anything more than that, it can not be 360 degrees, 365 days in the year work on politics, It’s not possible. Anybody talking about that now is just a complete restlessness and they are not focused on the development agenda of this nation.”
He also poured cold water on the talks of President Buhari nursing the dreaded Third Term Agenda ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Said he, “He is a reasonable politician. I have worked with President Muhammadu Buhari. We know that he will not ( contest the 2023 Presidential Elections), yes, detractors are, many people are always suspicious will make accusations but I was in the trench, I was in the struggle for democracy. I was in the trench and in opposition to the third term agenda of a former leader of this country with Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. President and he will never.
“He has the courage and the character to refuse such temptation even if offered to him. I believe in him and I believe Nigerians should believe in him. He doesn’t need to say it to me either in the corner or everywhere where the bring such a thing up but it is very good to hear it directly from him. To me, it is a congratulations to a man of integrity and character”, Tinubu stated.
