Dr. Junaid Mohammed, elderstatesman and Second Republic lawmaker on Thursday said the defeat suffered by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate in the Edo governorship election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu shouldn’t be seen as a humiliation of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the party’s National Leader.
The election was won by Governor Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 307,955 votes against Ize-Iyamu’s 223,619 votes.
Four days to the election, Tinubu had made a broadcast to Edo people, asking them to reject Obaseki on Saturday, alleging that the Edo governor has been undemocratic since he was first elected in 2016.
However, speaking in a chat with Daily Independent, Junaid said Tinubu as a politician has a right to choose any candidate that will advance his cause politically, which he did by openly rejecting Obaseki and declaring support for Ize-Iyamu.
“Tinubu is a politician and politician are allowed to once in a while make flowery statements. That should not be taken to mean anything. Secondly, Asiwaju Tinubu has contributed tremendously to the political careers of both Oshiomhole and Obaseki”.
So, if for whatever reason there is now a reason that Asiwaju has to make a choice, it is not going to be a personal choice, it will be a political choice. He will go for what will serve him better politically”.
“Having Obaseki continue as the governor of Edo state or allowing Oshiomhole to have his way in terms of supporting his handpicked candidate. These are minor issues. You cannot ignore the influence of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the South West and parts of the South South where Delta and Edo are”.
“I don’t see any problem in any statement he made. He made the statement but the outcome of the election was not exactly what he had wished. That is the end of the story. We should close the chapter and move on to Ondo and other theatres of contestation”.
“It should not be seen as a personal humiliation to Tinubu. In this game called politics, you cannot say that you’ll always win. You win some, you lose some. It should not be used against him because he said something and it turned out to be the reverse”.
” I don’t believe Tinubu is a fortune teller that whatever he says must come to pass. That cannot happen in politics” he said.
