The Chieftain of the All progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu has denied media reports suggesting that he is behind the current travail of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
The Former Lagos governor also dismissed speculation that he was working against Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, over 2023 presidency.
He said this in reaction to the latest actions taken by President Muhammadu Buhari allegedly targeted at his deputy.
Sunday Independent reports that President Muhammadu Buhari met recently with Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande, former APC Interim National Chairman of the APC and complained about certain actions of the Vice President. The report said he allegedly asked the duo to prevail on Osinbajo to resign his appointment from the cabinet.
According to the report, while Akande was said to have opposed resignation, Tinubu allegedly supported the President and claimed that nothing was wrong with Osinbajo quitting if found to be culpable.
Speaking on the matter, Tinubu’s spokesman, Tunde Rahman, denied rift between his principal and Osinbajo.
“There is no truth in the allegation that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is against the Vice President. There is nothing stopping the Vice President from nursing a presidential ambition. If he wants to run, let him run. We are all watching and waiting. It is all a bundle of lies that Asiwaju Tinubu is unhappy about that. People are just politicizing the situation. Tinubu cannot muscle his own boy in any way”.
Recently, the presidency took several decisions that suggested that the President may have lost confidence in his deputy. Last week, the President sacked the Economic Management Team (EMT) headed by Osinbajo and constituted an Economic Advisory Council (EAC). Shortly after the dissolution of the EMT, the presidency in a memo to Osinbajo also directed him to seek presidential approval for all agencies under his supervision.
These developments have fueled speculations that the president may have commenced processes that would culminate in Osinbajo's removal. Already, some media outlets have reported that a popular pastor in the South West has been penciled to replace Osinbajo.
