Third Republic Senate President and a member of the National Caucus of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ameh Ebute, has claimed that not all members of the party are aware of a 2014 agreement that a former Governor of Lagos state, Bola Tinubu, will take over from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Ebute, 75, made this known in a recent interview with Vanguard. He argued that the purported agreement was not in the interest of the generality of Nigerians.
It would be recalled that a former interim National Chairman of APC, Bisi Akande, had claimed in his book, ‘My Participations’, released late last year, that Buhari in 2014 promised to make Tinubu his running mate in exchange for his support at the APC primaries.
Akande wrote that Buhari reneged on his promise after some governors raised objections. It was said that at the time, Tinubu, the national APC leader, was promised presidency in 2023.
Speaking on the alleged power agreement between Buhari and Tinubu, Ebute said: “Not all members of APC are aware of it. That agreement is not a good one. If people from the South-West and the North-West come into agreement, nobody from other parts will be president again. I don’t think such an agreement will be in the interest of the country. That should lead to another political confrontation. So, if there is such agreement, not everyone is aware. And if there is such, it cannot hold as two parts of the geo-political regions cannot hold the country to perpetual ransom.”
The Benue State-born lawyer added: “The agreement, was it of the entire nation? People believed at that time that Buhari should be able to bring change, instill discipline, recover stolen money and with the manifesto they have, the fight against corruption will be intensified. But, I don’t know if the administration is tired of fighting against corruption for now because the fight is dying. He is not talking about it anymore as he used to. He came as a credible president. He made efforts to sensitize the society through fighting against corruption. So, they thought when he comes as civilian president, he will do the same thing. But, the president in uniform is not the same as ruling under democracy. There was so much fear about him initially but not anymore.
“The agreement they had was not in the interest of the country. Two zones alone will not continue among themselves to rule Nigeria. I don’t think that type of agreement should be obeyed.”
