The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has hit back at former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his endorsement of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for the February 25 presidential poll.
Tinubu, while addressing supporters at the APC presidential rally held at the University of Benin Sports Complex in Benin City, the Edo state capital on Thursday, said Obasanjo is “jealous” of his achievements.
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He said the former President’s endorsement of Obi won’t work or make any difference in the outcome of the election.
According to Tinubu, “the blind” cannot lead “the blind”.
Tinubu recalled that as Lagos governor from 1999 to 2007, whilst Obasanjo was President, he “punished” him and millions of residents of Lagos by allegedly withholding local government funds that belonged to the nation’s commercial nerve centre.
According to Tinubu, both Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar, his then Vice President and now presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, seized the Federal Government’s allocation to Lagos.
He said, “Can that man recommend a leader for you in Nigeria? Is that not sending an agent to pick your pocket?” Tinubu asked thousands of APC supporters at the rally.
“A blind leading the blind. I am sorry I am not insulting visually impaired people. But it won’t work, they will end up in the ditch. If I talk about Obasanjo and Obi…one who doesn’t know the way cannot show the way,” he added.
Obi’s endorsement by the former Nigerian military head of state between February 1976 and October 1979 has since provoked the candidates of the APC, the PDP, amongst others.
Recall that the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Edwin Clark also endorsed Obi as his preferred candidate.
Obi was also previously endorsed by leader of pan Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Ayo Adebanjo.