Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has reacted to former Governor of Lagos state, Bola Tinubu’s claim on why he (Saraki) opposed a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.
Tinubu had during his consultation with the delegates of the APC on Thursday June 2 in Abeokuta, Ogun State, accused Saraki of leading a campaign of calumny against his emergence as the running mate to Buhari in the 2015 election due to his ambition to become the Senate President.
He said;
“He (Buhari) knew all the calculations then favoured us, that is why he wanted me as his vice, but I told him to let us build the party first.
“And when we finished building the party after we brought in people from the PDP, Saraki now saw that those from the PDP will not get anything if Buhari, a Muslim becomes the president and me, also a Muslim becomes his vice, he won’t get the senate president and the senate president cannot also be a Muslim, that was how they started the campaign of calumny against me.”
However reacting to the claim via a statement released by head of his Media Office, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki noted that he does not regret his action as he and others only opposed any plan that will cause a religious crisis in a multi-religious country like Nigeria.
The former Senate President also said that his action was in “national interest and he will take the same stand today, tomorrow, and any other day.”
Saraki said;
“When I and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014 stood against having a Muslim-Muslim ticket, it was not a decision targeted at any individual or group but one taken in the national interest. Asiwaju knows this and he is just being mischievous by presenting this decision as something aimed at stopping his ambition.
“Let me make it clear that the decision to oppose the plans by some people to make APC present a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015 was in the national interest and I will take the same stand today, tomorrow, and any other day. My stance is based on the fact that such a ticket is not good for the unity of the country and will further accentuate one of our fault lines.
“Even Asiwaju Tinubu knows that I am a man who does not shy away from standing for what is right. He knows that I don’t follow the crowd and I take a stand based on my conviction of what is good for the country and what is not good for her. It is also obvious that I have paid prices for this stand.
“The opposition to a Muslim- Muslim ticket was not targeted at Tinubu or any other person. It was a decision that even all party leaders know helped the victory of the party and also worked for the unity of the country. That decision is not about self but national and collective interests. It is a decision which served the purpose of the people of Nigeria and I have no regret supporting it”
Also expressing surprise that Tinubu has refused to move on and still sulked over what happened in 2014, the former Governor of Kwara State added that the APC presidential aspirant had become so fixated on the Muslim-Muslim ticket issue of 2014 that he worked so hard to stop his emergence as Senate President in a move he considered as retaliatory.
Saraki alleged that Tinubu maintained an adversarial position against the eighth National Assembly, initiated covert and overt measures aimed at undermining the federal legislature, and set the executive against the legislature.
He also accused the former Governor of Lagos state of twisting issues and making false claims in his quarterly press statements to make the National Assembly under his leadership look bad.
The statement added;
“Despite calling himself a democrat, he continued to support every effort to frustrate the eighth national assembly and thwart its efforts to provide good representation to Nigeria. He was the architect of several moves that set the Presidency on a collision course with the national assembly.
“At a time, he would twist issues and make false claims in his quarterly press statements aimed at making the national assembly under my leadership look bad.
“Now, Nigerians know the truth. We can only urge Senator Tinubu to look at the bigger picture on all matters and stop viewing all issues within the prism of his ambition and personal interest.”
