2023 Presidential Election: Osinbajo withdraw for Tinubu

Ayantoye Ayomide, Lagos

Ahead of 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has dropped his 2023 presidential ambition for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

This hint was revealed to someone by an aide who said he over heard the Vice President telling close associates and members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God who paid him unofficial visit some days ago at the Presidential Villa.

The source also revealed that at Osinbajo’s visit to felicitate with Mr Bola Tinubu, the former Governor of Lagos and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, he sounded philosophical while eulogising Tinubu’s contribution to the political space and his influence on him.

According to him, “A lot of things would go wrong if anything had happened to you sir,” Osinbajo was quoted as saying to Tinubu, during that visit to Mr Tinubu’s country home at Bourdillon, Lagos State.

Although Mr Osinbajo has not declared publicly that he would vie for the topmost office in the land, his body language and the plethora of online media accounts promoting that ambition keep rising. He has also not denounced them.

Instead, many strategic groups promoting his candidacy keep emerging , describing him as best suited to take over from his boss after the expiration of their 8 years in office.

But a source revealed to THE WHISTLER over the weekend that in view of the political development in the South West, it would be a wrong calculation to state his interest publicly or keep people guessing.

This development, it was revealed, is due to the fact that Mr Tinubu has left no stone unturned to ensure he contests the presidential election.

Apart from the favourable shift of South West political movement towards Mr Tinubu, the divisive dimension in which supporters of both Tinubu and Osinbajo have been engaging themselves in the unofficial campaign was also cited as to the reason the Vice President must act fast.

It could be recalled Osinbajo was appointed Commissioner of Justice in Lagos State by Mr Tinubu while he was governor and has remained one of Tinubu’s confidants.

Mr Osinbajo, according to one of his close associates, has high regards personally and politically for Mr Tinubu.

In fact, it’s public knowledge that the liability of floating a Muslim/Muslim ticket in 2015 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was what prompted Mr Tinubu to look in the direction of his closest protege as Mr Buhari’s running mate.

This was what made Osinbajo to emerge as the Vice President leading to his rapid rise in Nigeria’s political space.

The source said the Vice President would be eternally grateful for that gesture from his political godfather hence the need to preserve that goodwill and return it in 2023.

Osinbajo, who is highly respected for not being politically ambitious, has been accused by some political analysts including some of his high ranking associates of being politically naive.