The South-West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA 2023) has come to the defense of its grand patron, Bola Tinubu concerning the recently released book, “My Participations” authored by the former interm chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Bisi Akande, saying the book was not authored in a bid to pressure President Muhammadu Buhari to support the 2023 presidential ambition of Tinubu but that he would need the President’s support when the time comes.
In the book chief Akande Narrated how Buhari had in 2014 promised to make Tinubu his running mate in exchange for his support at the APC primaries only for Buhari to renege on his promise because he and Tinubu shared the same faith and a Muslim-Muslim joint ticket would not fly.
Speaking on Friday in an interview with the Punch, the Secretary of the group, Mr. Bosun Oladele said “The question one should ask is ‘are there any lies told by Chief Akande in his book?’ If there are lies, those who feel so are free to respond. But if he has said the truth, is there a time or a time limit within which somebody must say the truth? Is there an ultimatum for the truth to be said? Whether he has blackmailed the President or not, that can only be left to the permutations of those who are playing negative politics. If you are talking of developmental politics and politics of principle, then Chief Akande is one of the champions.
“The President who attended the book launch never gave any insinuation that he was being blackmailed. It was just an attempt to put recent history in proper perspective. Whoever has followed Chief Akande and his style of politics, anybody will know that he doesn’t care whose ox is gored and I don’t think he would care now that he is old,” he added.
Several critics had alleged that the book was released ahead of the 2023 elections to pressure Buhari to redeem himself by supporting Tinubu’s presidential ambition.