A prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, Chief Jumoke Akinjide, has criticized Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Peoples Congress (APC), accusing him of being self-centered and lacking concern for the struggles of Nigerians.
Akinjide, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, asserted that Tinubu’s focus was solely on his own political ambitions and not on the hardships faced by the citizens of the country.
Akinjide made these remarks on Saturday during an appearance on the Lagelu FM 96.7 programme, ‘Bose n lo’, hosted by Temitayo Oyeladun and viewed online.
During the show, Akinjide expressed her opinion on Tinubu’s visit to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, claiming that the visit indicated that the APC presidential candidate had disregarded his party’s gubernatorial candidate in the state, Sen. Teslim Folarin.
She said, “Tinubu is a National leader of the APC but didn’t complain about the suffering of Nigerians in almost eight years (of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)’s regime) but he’s only complaining now because his party’s policies are threatening his ambition.
“Tinubu came to Ibadan and visited Governor Seyi Makinde, heaping praises on him and acknowledging the achievement of the party (PDP) in the state. He got to Mapo Hall and just handed the flag to the party standard-bearer without a word of campaign for himself or the gubernatorial candidate of the party.”
Akinjide went on to suggest that Tinubu’s visit to Governor Makinde was a clear indication that he had covertly abandoned his own party’s candidate and instead chosen to support the candidate of the PDP.
“They (Tinubu and other APC chieftains) came to the state, went to the governor, to Mapo, then went to meet with some Obas, here in Ibadan and went straight to the airport without visiting His Imperial Majesty, the Olubadan of Ibadan. That’s very bad. Even Presidents won’t do that” Akinjide lamented.
Engr Rauf Olaniyan, a former deputy governor of the state, who also participated in the Lagelu FM programme, responded to Akinjide’s claims, dismissing them as baseless and stating that the ruling party in the state was actually more fragmented.
“If they deceive you don’t deceive yourself. Have you ever seen Akinjide follow Seyi to any campaign ground,” Olaniyan asked.
Regarding allegations that Tinubu did not make any statements at Mapo Hall, Engr Rauf Olaniyan stated, “Tinubu would have cried in appreciation of the reception he received in Oyo State if he made to speak. What more would you want him to say? The crowd was reassuring enough beyond words. Asiwaju had nothing more to say.”
It is worth noting that Olaniyan served as the deputy governor to Engr Seyi Makinde but was removed from office by the Oyo State House of Assembly through an impeachment process.