A former presidential aspirant and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adamu Garba, has said Bola Tinubu’s romance with agitators such as Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo and Asari Dakubo, is “pragmatic, strategic and necessary”.
Garba said this during a recent interview on Arise TV, monitored by POLITICS NIGERIA.
Tinubu is the presidential candidate of the APC.
According to Garba, the former governor of Lagos State holding out an olive branch to bandits, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) outlaws, Eastern Security Network (ESN) members, and Boko Haram insurgents, is “an excellent move towards a general national reconciliation”.
“To the best of my knowledge, I think he is being pragmatic. There had been so much attacks against the so-called agitation in Niger Delta since General Sani Abacha days which was the dictatorial times. Was there any success?
“So if these people express willingness to join the formal economy and work for Nigeria, not against Nigeria, then who are you as a leader not to accommodate them?
“A situation whereby you have Tompolo, who used to do something evil and now comes back and say he wants to do something good in the interest of Nigeria, you will not be a good leader to throw him away because you are going to create multiple Tompolos that will come against Nigeria in the future,” Garba said.
Last week, Tinubu met with Tompolo, a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
The 70-year-old visited Tompolo alongside traditional rulers and other Niger Delta stakeholders, where he interacted with the community on his plans ahead of the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
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