The South West Agenda (SWAGA), a support group for Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, has criticized Olusegun Obasanjo for endorsing Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate.
The victory of the former governor of Lagos state won’t be impacted by the former president’s decision, according to Senator Dayo Adeyeye, the national chairman of SWAGA, who spoke at a party for members of the campaign group in Ekiti, Ondo, Kogi, and other states on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti state.
Adeyeye pledged that SWAGA will deliver 14 million votes in the South West for the APC candidate, explaining that Tinubu’s track record and contributions to nation building over the last three decades would put him ahead of rivals.
Dismissing the Labour Party candidate’s endorsement, the APC leader, who serves as the Presidential Campaign Council’s (PCC) director of support groups, said former president Obasanjo is free to back whoever he chooses, but added that his choice won’t affect the results of the election on February 25.
He asserted, “We are in the south-west here, and we are aware of the politics of the region; the endorsement of the Labour Party candidate will have absolutely no adverse effect on the victory of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
“Former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is free to support any candidate, and we are all free to campaign for whoever we choose under the Constitution. I can assure you that Tinubu will win because the people of the South West, including those in Obasanjo’s native Egba country, would support him in large numbers.
“Remember, as SWAGA, we pledged to deliver 14 million votes. We haven’t backed down from this crucial commitment, and we’ve been trying to produce much more than that number. Anyone can support him since he has done the country a favor by battling for the democracy that we all now take for granted.
“We have met with more than 300 traditional leaders throughout Yoruba country, and the candidate has done the same. They have all given him their support. All Yoruba leaders, including Afenifere, have endorsed him; therefore, I don’t believe what Obasanjo did would have any bearing on Bola Tinubu’s chances in the upcoming election.
Regarding the concerns mentioned in Obasanjo’s letter about the qualifications and experience of the other presidential candidates, Adeyeye claimed that Tinubu had demonstrated his readiness for the job of reconstructing the country with a workable action plan that set him apart from his rivals.
Speaking of health, God is ultimately responsible for a man’s wellbeing. Let me tell you that many of them who predicted that President Muhammadu Buhari would pass away in 2015 have already passed away. In terms of a person’s health, I do not believe that we should act as if we are God.
Who is more diligent than Tinubu as the election draws near? Neither of the contenders. You can see he is meeting critical stakeholders day and night. You can be engrossed in rumours and speculation, I can say this man is fit and competent to be the president of our nation.
“I think President Obasanjo will continue to raise issues. Nobody will ever be good in the eyes of the former president, even if Obafemi Awolowo was to be the president, he will see reasons to criticize him. In his eyes, nobody is good and better than him,” he said.
On his part, a former member of the House of Representatives, Oyetunde Ojo revealed that SWAGA would continue to work and mobilize for the presidential ambition of Tinubu ahead of the election, noting that the group would not be distracted by the antics of the opposition.
Ojo said, “That Obasanjo’s endorsement is one man’s opinion which is not the whole country’s opinion. He won’t take the majority opinion of Nigerians who are ready to vote Tinubu for the overall good of the nation.
“We have been on the field as a group canvassing for Tinubu and we will work till the last minute in February because our principal didn’t believe in laziness, he is everywhere talking to the people.”
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