By Igho Akeregha and nDavid Lawani (Abuja) and Olusegun Olanrewaju (Lagos)
National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election.

Tinubu disclosed this after meeting with the President at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.

According to him, the president is a democrat and has, therefore, not asked him to stop the pursuit of his ambition, which for him, is life-long.

Tinubu said, “I have informed the resident of my intention, but I’ve not informed Nigerians yet. I am still consulting, I have no problem consulting, and I have not set a parameter of limitation to the extent of how many people I will consult. You will soon hear all you want to hear; it is a categorical declaration. You’ve gotten that truth from me that I have informed Mr President of my ambition.”

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The APC national leader also dismissed the calls in some quarters that he should remain a kingmaker, instead of nurturing residential ambition in 2023.
Fielding questions from State House Correspondents after a closed-door meeting with Buhari, Tinubu said as a Nigerian, he has the right to be the king himself, not just a kingmaker.

“I have never seen where it is written in the rule book anywhere in any country that a kingmaker cannot be a king unless he commits murder. I want to pursue my ambition without the title of a kingmaker,” he said.

The APC leader said he was in the presidential villa to formally inform the resident of his desire to run for President in 2023.

Asked how the President responded to his declaration, Tinubu said that Buhari did not ask him to discard his political ambition.

“He is a democrat. He didn’t ask me to stop, he didn’t ask me not to attempt to pursue my ambition. It is a lifelong ambition. You are running a democratic dispensation, and you must adopt the principles and values and virtues of democracy,” he said.

On the purported ambition of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, and other politicians nurturing similar presidential ambitions with him in the APC, Tinubu said he would not discuss individuals.

“I don’t want to discuss individuals now, I must discuss myself. I have the confidence, vision, and capacity to build on the foundation of the residents and turn Nigeria better. I have done that with commitment and yielding zeal in Lagos State.

“You have seen that experience and capacity to turn things around, and that is also what we are doing. The confusion and drift of the past in PDP are being corrected as we are today. Going back to the data of how many barrels of oil we were producing when we took over and what we have today.

“You now see excellent infrastructure. Let us think back and be intellectually inquisitive as to the past and the present as well as what the future holds for Nigeria,” he added.

Speaking on the much-talked-about national convention of the party, Tinubu assured supporters of the party that the convention would hold as planned.
The former two-time Lagos governor also stressed that he has the confidence, vision, and capacity to build on the foundation laid by Buhari to turn around the fortunes of the country.

Sources informed ThisNigeria that in his usual way, the president received the Asiwaju of Lagos very warmly, but did not offer any commitment to Tinubu.

It is also not clear what Buhari has up his slaves as he was quoted as saying last week that if he discloses his successor now, the person could be killed.

The move by Tinubu is seen in some quarters as a pre-emptive strike on the muted ambition of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who is also interested in contesting for the position.

Osinbajo, a professor of law, was largely perceived to be a protégé of Tinubu in the Buhari cabinet but has since established a distinct political image woven around a strong character and credibility while acting as president thrice while Buhari was away on medical vacation.

Some believe there may be an imminent clash of interest between Tinubu, Osinbajo, and Buhari as the president will at some point go for broke to support one of his party men.

Already, different interest groups have gone to town with billboards, flyers, and banners requesting that Tinubu give his nod for them to declare an open campaign for him.

It could be recalled that during the heated conjectures in 2021, BAT, as Tinubu is popularly known, will be making his intention known whether he will contest for the presidency or not in January 2023.

He has finally done that to put to rest all the speculations about his ambition.

A phone call to Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina, to get more details of Tinubu’s visit was not answered as the phone rang out without response.

Also, multiple sources disclosed that since the South-West region has had a stint with the presidency for eight years and the vice president is also completing another eight years with President Buhari, it would be morally fair to have another region in the south-south take a shot at the slot.

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With the formal declaration of Tinubu yesterday, reactions will continue to trail the move as President Buhari was alleged to have asked Tinubu to take the campaign to the Nigerian people who will have the final say on who becomes the president in 2023.