2023 Presidency: Why Atiku Cannot Defeat Tinubu – Oshiomhole

Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole has opined that the candidate of the ruling party, Bola Tinubu, would win the 2023 presidential election.

The former Edo Governor asserted that Tinubu will succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023 because of his antecedents and developmental strides in Lagos State.

He argued that the APC Presidential candidate will replicate the feat achieved in Lagos if elected as the president in 2023 and would build on the legacies of President Buhari.

Oshiomhole stated that Tinubu will defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar because the party has violated zoning and power shift.

The former APC national chairman stated this on Monday at a rally in Sabongida-Ora community to receive Ojo Asein, Governor Godwin Obaseki’s former political adviser and his supporters to the APC.

Oshiomhole also highlighted the achievements of the former Lagos State governor, including successful revenue generation drive, effective traffic control, grooming competent people for leadership, bridge building and talent hunt.

He said: “You knew what Lagos was in those days of the military government when they used horse whips to manage traffic, but the population was not up to what we have today. Then, they had to change vehicle numbers. On Monday, you would use odd numbers, while on Tuesday, you would use even numbers, because the successive military leaders in Lagos at that time had no solution to the traffic challenge.

“Then, area boys were occupying under the bridges of Lagos. Such that whenever NLC wanted to organise strike, when we mobilised the area boys, God helping you, if you passed the roads. Tinubu, who was elected as governor in 1999, transformed Lagos, and he is still very relevant. How many of the 1999 governors do you still hear their names?

“In Asiwaju Tinubu, we have a man who looks for brains and people who can think and perform excellently, because nobody will give you what he does not have. Tinubu is a huge political economy school, with many persons enrolling, to be trained, graduate and deployed in their states for greater service to humanity.

“Tinubu recruited and trained Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior, in his school of government and politics. When Aregbesola became mature, Tinubu deployed him in Osun State and he became the governor. Tinubu also picked a SAN, Babatunde Fashola, made him his chief of staff, tutored him, and when he was leaving in 2007, he allowed Fashola to take over. Fashola excelled as Lagos governor. Grade one. I always call him “My Captain”.

Oshiomhole added: “During Tinubu’s period as Lagos governor and also with Fashola as the helmsman, the area boys were converted to area workers. Under the bridges, abandoned vehicles were also converted to gardens and greens. After Fashola as governor, we had Akinwunmi Ambode and today, we have Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Go to Lagos, you will find four lanes of road. Do you still see people in Lagos, using horse whips to control traffic anymore? With Tinubu as Nigeria’s president in 2023, Nigeria will turn around for our good.

“Tinubu is politically smart. When they seized Lagos State’s local governments’ allocations, because Tinubu wanted to ensure true federalism, which Nigerians are talking about today, he stood and defended the rights of states to create local governments. The then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, seized Lagos State’s local governments’ funds for more than one year. The Supreme Court ordered the release of the funds, but Obasanjo’s government refused.

“The local governments in Lagos state never went on strike for one day, because Tinubu internally generated revenue to pay the local governments’ workers their salaries. From Lagos State’s Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) of N600 million a month, it is now over N40 billion monthly, courtesy of Tinubu’s efforts. Without Abuja’s monthly allocations, Lagos state is working.”