Temidayo Akinsuyi, Lagos
Junaid Mohammed, elders statesman and Second Republic federal lawmaker on Wednesday said last week’s attacks on the investments of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Lagos State governor and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests were politically motivated.
Speaking in an interview with INDEPENDENT, Junaid said as a citizen of Nigeria who has contributed in no small measures to national development, Tinubu has a right to aspire for the highest office of the land and no amount of sponsored attacks can deny him that right.
He said: “First and foremost, I condemn in its entirety the motivation or the reason for the people who carried out the attacks. No matter what one’s attitude towards Tinubu, one cannot justify the attacks on him verbally, attacks on his properties physically and I believe that it is not a crime to be in politics”.
“Tinubu has done a lot for Lagos in terms of developments and he has also done a lot for the South-West. Even those who are not from his ethnic group cannot deny the fact that there is a difference in the development in Lagos before the Tinubu era and after his era. I am not a member of APC but the fact of the matter is, there is nothing wrong in Tinubu aspiring to be anything”.
“As far as I am concerned, it is not a crime to want to aspire to be the President of this country or occupy any elective office. It is also a shame that those who have nothing to offer are now targeting people who have done a lot for the country. TVC is a private broadcasting channel; nobody is forced to watch TVC. Clearly, the whole attack is purely politically motivated”.
“Whether it is motivated against Tinubu’s person or his ambition for the presidency in 2023, the fact of the matter is, Tinubu like any other person is entitled to try his luck and throw his hat into the ring because as a Nigerian, he has absolute right to do so.
“That right is undiminished by whatever anybody will say or they will do. No amount of attacks can deny him that right to aspire for the highest office in the land.”
