By Danlami Nmodu
Former Governor of Lagos State,Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed his conviction that President Muhammadu Buhari will not stay in office beyond 2023.
Tinubu who made his view known while addressing the State House Press Corps Tuesday at the Presidential Villa said he believes Buhari’s words distancing himself from the third term plot.
The former governor who is also a national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC said he knows Buhari has the character and the experience to resist such temptation even if anybody suggested it to him.
Tinubu recalled that himself along with Buhari had been in the trench resisting a plot for third term by a former President, a reference to the failed plot by President Olusegun Obasanjo to extend his tenure.
According to the former governor, “Any reasonable politician, who had worked with President Muhammadu Buhari will know that he will not (tamper with the Constitution). Distractors are always suspicious and will make accusations, but I was in the trench, in the struggle for democracy.
“I was in the trench and in the opposition, with Muhammadu Buhari, till the third term agenda of a former leader of this country failed. I know he (Buhari) will never (embrace such plot). He has the courage and the character to refuse such a temptation even if offered to him. I believe in him and I believe Nigerians should also believe in him.
“He doesn’t need to say it to me, I’ll argue it in the corner and everywhere they bring such a thing up. However, it’s very good to hear it from him. I say congratulations to a man of character and integrity. The challenge of turning the ship of this nation around is a continuum and a continuous effort and that is what we should get ourselves concerned with.
“Yes, politics is intoxicating, it’s flamboyant, it’s interesting, but we cannot continue in perpetuity one after the other, we have to relax, show concern for the people of the country and see to the efforts of the President that will manifest in the new, united and prosperous country. We are still not there.
The APC chieftain also played down talks about clamour for zoning zoning of the Presidency ahead of the next general elections.When asked to speak on the agitation by several zones to produce the 2023 president, Tinubu said it was too early.According to him, the party had just won an election and that it was better to allow it address the issue of governance.
Speaking on 2023, Tinubu said, “That time is not now. We have just finished one election and Mr President is busy sorting out the Budget, working for the people of this country. Of course, restlessness of politics is going to be there, but any lover of this country will not talk about the succession plan yet. That’s the truth. Concentrate on working for the country, help the President to help the country. There’s nothing more than that.
“We cannot use 365 days in a year and 360° to work on politics, it’s not possible. Anybody talking about that now is just completely restless and not focused on the agenda of nation building and development of our country.”
He also said President Buhari’s “new year message resonated very well; he showed concern about the security and the understanding that the economy is still a challenge, but it’s a work in progress, you’ll have to continue to work on it and make it better for the common man. That’s the meat of the message.”
Speaking on his trip to the Presidential Villa, Tinubu said, “It’s a new decade, a visit to the leader of my country is necessary to look at things and wish him well in the office for this new decade and make some points on the stability, security and a number of issues around the country.
