A presidential aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that if he emerges as the party’s candidate in the forthcoming primaries there will be no contest between him and whoever emerges as a presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Senator Tinubu who is also the national leader of the APC insisted that he would not retire from politics until he becomes the president of Nigeria.

Tinubu who said this during his visit to Benue State to formally inform the delegates and stakeholders on his ambition to contest for the president of the country said he had all it would take to change the fortunes of Benue State and Nigeria at large if elected president.

“I see no reason why Benue as the food basket of the country will still be engaging in crude way of farming without processing plants, research institutes for improved and mechanized agriculture and my becoming the president in 2023 will rekindle the hope of Nigerians and bring back the lost glory of Benue farmers,” Tinubu added.

“When elected I will bring the experience of my leadership as the governor of Lagos State to bear. And I want to guarantee you that I will run a transparent, open and inclusive government that will impact on all citizens.

“I want to tell you that Nigeria is rich. What we need is to redirect our resources and channel them in the right direction” Tinubu said.

Earlier, former governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shatima, and Hon. Kashim Imam, in their address described Tinubu as a unifying force that had held the APC together.

The duo described Tinubu as a leader who sacrificed so much in ensuring the success of the APC and democracy at large urging all delegates in Benue State to choose him as the candidate of the party in the coming congress.

FRESH facts have emerged on the reason behind the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party to shift its scheduled governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and houses of assembly primaries according to Vanguard.

On Tuesday in Abuja, disputes over the final list of delegates and reconciliation efforts were central to the decision.

It was also learnt that the party is weighing its options with regards to its desire to build consensus among aspirants.“A top-ranking member of the party leadership who spoke in confidence said, “This is politics, we need to reduce friction as much as possible, we intend to build consensus so that the primaries and the national convention will be as rancour-free as possible.“He equally said, “We are mindful of happenings in the other party and we intend to put our house in order before going into the convention.”

“Under the former timetable, the primaries for the State Houses of Assembly were to hold on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, Senatorial, May 18, 2022, Governorship primaries were scheduled to hold on Monday, May 23, 2022.

The Presidential primary is to hold on May, 28-29, 2022.“However, the National Working Committee of the party in a letter dated May 16, 2023, which was addressed to the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu announced an extension.“In the letter titled: “Further Extension of dates for Party Congresses/primaries.

“The National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, said, “The National Working Committee (NWC), of the Official Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria has extended the dates for party congresses/primaries as follows:“ 1. State House of Assembly – Saturday, May 21, 2022, House of Representatives – Sunday, May 22, 2022, Senate – Monday, May 23, 2022, Governorship – Wednesday, May 25, 2022.” The party chairman enjoined all party members, leaders and critical stakeholders to take note.

“It was also learnt that a member of the convention planning committee and Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, reached out to his former boss, Ex-President GoodLuck Jonathan to get him to attend the convention.“Jonathan has not attended any PDP event since he lost the 2015 Presidential election. Should he attend this convention, it would be his first in over seven years.

“The former President has been dogged by controversies over his alleged romance with the ruling All Progressives Congress.“In a related development, Senator David Mark- led National Convention Planning Committee, on Tuesday, inspected facilities at the Velodrome of the Mashood Abiola Stadium, the proposed venue for the Convention.”

Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday declared himself as the best among those aspiring to be president in 2023.

Saraki spoke in Osogbo during a meeting with the leadership and members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Osun state

The presidential aspirant also said he had been close to the PDP family in the state, adding that he had also worked with the party to ensure that PDP returned to government in the state.

He then called for support of the delegates from the state to ensure victory for him during the party’s presidential primary.

He said, “I am the only aspirant that has eight years of experience in an executive arm of government, who has been in the private sector, and who has been the chairman of the National Assembly.

“There is no other person with that kind of experience. Whether you are talking about executive experience, whether you are talking about restructuring which includes constitutional review and amendment, for somebody who has headed the parliament, or whether you are talking about uniting Nigerians, you know a national assembly is a place where you are first among equals. You must have the capacity to bring people together.

“You will understand how business works so that people in business can invest. There is no other aspirant that has that experience and that is why I believe that I am the best among them,” Saraki said.

National Leader of the All Progressives Congress APC Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has vowed that he will not retire from partisan politics until he becomes President of Nigeria.

Tinubu who made the vow during his campaign visit to Benue State on Tuesday ahead of the APC’s primaries slated to hold this Friday, said if elected, he would bring his wealth of experience to bear on the governance of the country.

“I won’t retire from politics until I am the president of Nigeria. I will bring the experience of my leadership in Lagos state as a Governor to bare on my leadership style in Nigeria.

The former Lagos State Governor who insisted that he is the best man for the job said if he emerges as the Presidential candidate of the APC, he will surely win the presidential election no matter whoever emerges as the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party PDP.

“There’s no contest between me and whoever will emerge as the candidate of opposition PDP,” he stated.

The APC National Leader assured that if and when elected as president of the country, he would run a transparent and open government.

“I guarantee you that I will run a transparent, open government. Nigeria is rich. What we need is to redirect our resources and channel them in the right direction,” he said.

Earlier in a remark, Sen Kashim Shettima while extolling the virtues of Sen JS Tarka as leader and emancipator of the minority interest groups in Nigeria, insisted that Asiwaju Tinubu is the right person to take Nigeria to the promised land.

Former Lagos state governor and Presidential hopeful on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Bola Tinubu has concluded plans to dump the ruling party, if the May 30 primaries are schemed against him, an associate of the former Lagos state government has said.

The associate who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Vanguard that the development was the reason former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal stated recently that Tinubu had plan B if APC primaries are manipulated against him.

Although, he noted that APC remains the primary platform Tinubu intends to actualize his dream of presiding over the affairs of the nation; other options including the SDP would be explored if the primaries come short of transparency and credibility.

It is too early to ask if Asiwaju would leave the APC for another party. He is a big factor in APC, a party he helped formed, financed and nurtured into what it is today. We are not unaware of recent developments and attempts to insult a man who has paid his dues in the political evolution of this country. But that is not important for now. What I can tell you is that our leader, like other contestants, is looking forward to a credible process that would lead to the emergence of our flag bearer. But if that process is compromised, I can tell you for free that we will encourage him to explore other options.

Yes, a lot has been said about SDP and Asiwaju. When we get to that bridge, we will cross it. SDP offered him a platform to become a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria years ago but for now, he is in APC and will remain there until circumstance dictates otherwise,” he said.

Tinubu is gunning for the sole ticket of the party alongside other formidable contestants such as Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Rotimi Amaechi, Ogbonayya Onu, Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello among others. In an interview with the media a few months ago, President Muhammadu Buhari had said that he would not reveal the identity of his preferred successor, lest he be eliminated.

Only recently APC chieftain and until recently a Presidential aspirant, Moses Ayom called on Babachir Lawal to withdraw his comment on Tinubu’s possible defection, labelling same as a threat to the Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee, saying “right now, the NWC is the leadership of the APC and it should be given all kinds of support to succeed. The idea of indirectly threatening the NWC that Tinubu has another option if he is not given ticket should not arise at all. As a committed APC leader from the Middle-Belt, I call on Babachir to withdraw the comments and apologize to the party immediately.”