Laolu Akande, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s media aide, has denied claims that Bola Tinubu has informed his principal and President Muhammadu Buhari of his plan to run for the presidency in 2023, The Guardian has said.
Reacting to the report, Akande in a Guardian publication on Sunday, January 9, stated that he is not aware of such a discussion among the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s pillars.
When asked to confirm the claim, Akande was quoted to have said:
“I don’t think you should support the flying of such dubious kites. But to answer your question, no. I am not aware of any such discussions to even begin with.”
The viral rumour was that Tinubu has officially intimated the president and Osinbajo of his presidential ambition and that Buhari has given his consent and support.
Some believe that if this by any chance is true, then Osinbajo and Tinubu will become opponents at the APC primaries ahead of the 2023 presidential poll.
However, Akande’s rebuttal of the claims has sort of silenced the growing side talks that President Buhari has shunned the VP to lend his support for the APC’s national leader.
Meanwhile, the presidency had debunked a media report claiming Osinbajo was on a collision course with Tinubu.
The report further claimed that the vice president was pushing to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
In a statement posted on his Facebook page on Monday, October 11, President Buhari’s special adviser on political matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, described the report as “divisive”.
He said the vice president is not “aware of this or endorse this kind of a divisive engagement and news reports.”
