A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bisi Akande, has claimed to have been instrumental in the emergence of Yemi Osinbajo as Vice President.
Naijaonpoint reports that Akande made this known while speaking on Edmund Obilo’s podcast, State Affairs, stating that he nominated Osinbajo after consulting with President Bola Tinubu in 2011.
The former Governor of Osun State recalled advising Tinubu to replace the late former President Muhammadu Buhari’s former running mate, Tunde Bakare, with another candidate.
He said, “I nominated Osinbajo for Vice President after consulting with Tinubu. I said it the way it is in my book, I said ‘Tinubu, come, in 2011 you were discussing with Buhari trying to replace Bakare with somebody, who was the person?’ He said Osinbajo, and I said I was going to recommend Osinbajo, which I did.”
Bisi Akande’s disclosure runs counter to widespread claims that Tinubu personally nominated Osinbajo as the running mate of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
Meanwhile, Akande recently said Tinubu is focused on preventing Nigeria’s resources from falling into the hands of illegal foreign exploitation.
He noted that the president prioritises human capital development in areas of science and technology that would help equip young people.
Akande stated this in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State Capital, while delivering a lecture titled ‘Governance, Structural Reforms and the Economic Landscape of Nigeria in the 21st Century’ at the maiden edition of the Joel Babatola Annual Lectures organised by the Ekiti Council of Elders.
He said Tinubu is focused on strengthening Nigeria from saboteurs and neo-colonialist grumblers.