What Are They Trying To Panel Beat? Shehu Sani Reacts As Tinubu Withdraws Outburst Against Buhari, Others

Former Kaduna Central lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani has reacted to the decision by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to backtrack on his statement about installing President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.

Sani submitted that what Tinubu said on Thursday during an interaction with delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State about helping Buhari to become President, nominating Professor Yemi Osinbajo as Vice President and installing Dapo Abiodun as Ogun State Governor was clearly understood.

This comes after Tinubu’s Campaign Director, Media & Communications, Bayo Onanuga on Friday described interpretations of the viral video as erroneous, misleading and mischievous.

He blamed opponents of Tinubu for attempting to twist what the former Governor said in Yoruba language to suit their purpose and interpretation.

But reacting, Sani took to his Twitter account to submit that there is no need to explain as what Tinubu said on Thursday in Ogun was direct and clearly understood.

He wrote: “What is Jagaban’s media team trying to retract,panel beat or modify when everything he said was plain,direct and clearly understood?

What is Jagaban’s media team trying to retract,panel beat or modify when everything he said was plain,direct and clearly understood?

— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) June 3, 2022

Onanuga had said in part: “It is on record that the leading presidential aspirant in the forthcoming primaries of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu addressed the national delegates of the party in Ogun State , with Governor Mr.Dapo Abiodun in attendance.

“In his effort to convince the party delegates to vote for him at the primaries, he went down memory lane to provide specific instances when he brought his political clout and strategic skills to assist individuals, groups and tendencies in the party to gain political power.

“These factual references are already in the public realm. They have been reported and analysed in the media in the last eight years. They are therefore, matters of public knowledge.

“While we recognise that recent unexpected interventions in the time table and the heat generated by the proximity of the event might have led to some anxiety, this campaign organisation believes that the main thrust of Asiwaju’s presentation, was that his huge contributions to the formation and electoral success of the All Progressives Congress should count in his favour as a true party man who desires to be the flag bearer.

“There is also no doubt that the fresh conditions proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari for the consideration of a presidential candidate of the party made it necessary for Asiwaju to labour to convince the delegates that he fits the bill.

“The campaign was surprised at the way the opposition and Tinubu’s traducers had turned his statement to give an interpretation Tinubu did not mean and did not say.

“At no time did Tinubu play any ethnic card or denigrate any ethnic group. That is surely out of his character, as Engineer David Babachir Lawal, attested in his viral whatsApp statement.

“Tinubu’s speech in Abeokuta did not demonstrate any disrespect to President Buhari, for whom he has a very high regard, and whose re-election campaign he chaired in 2019.

“Since the video of the speech he delivered in Yoruba hit the social media, varied interpretations have been given to the speech, which in the main was about Governor Abiodun, who in the true tradition of Yoruba culture bowed to his leader after Tinubu’s short speech.”