2023: Osinbajo’s presidential declaration immoral, unacceptable — Eze

. . . Urges him to withdraw

Erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has described Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s expression of interest for the 2023 presidential race as an act of careless perfidy and deliberate embarrassment to the sensibilities of the lettered Nigerian public.

In a statement in Abuja, Chief Eze said the declaration of the Vice President was a clear tale of treachery perpetrated against former Lagos Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a man whose political career is built upon demanding unctuous loyalty from his allies and who now feels wounded over the shabby betrayal of a Senior Advocate and confidant-turned-adversary, who rode to power through his large wings of political magnanimity.

Eze, a member of the APC Legacy Project Media Team, said although every Nigerian adult who meets the requisite constitutional requirements reserves the right to contest an election, he however stated that where such interest threatens public morality and slips below recognized standards of propriety and good taste, people of goodwill owe the public an obligation to bring such oddity to question for public good.

The party chief said after reading through what he called “flimsy and watery reasons” given by the Vice President to contest the 2023 presidential election, he found it a reasonable obligation, as a sane and morally upright Nigerian, to alert the world that such declaration smacked of very perceptible tincture of political infidelity against his all-time benefactor, Bola Tinubu, who has nurtured a life-long aspiration for the presidency.

He hinged his points on the fact that Osinbajo’s mentor, Senator Bola-Ahmed Tinubu, having already declared his interest, regardless of the wobbling condition of his candidature, that as long as Osinbajo is a product of the National Leader of APC, it remains immoral, unethical and unacceptable for Vice President Osinbajo to offer himself to run against his boss whose inputs in his political life need not be overemphasized as doing so portrays him as a betrayer who is capable of betraying his current Principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, if he mistakenly succeeds to clinch the Presidency, though very much unlikely.

Congratulating the ruling All Progressives Congress for zoning the Presidential slot of the party to Southern region of the country, Eze said the zoning arrangement was done with the knowledge that the South Western region of Nigeria where Vice President Osinbanjo hails from has had Chief Ernest Shonekan and General Olusegun Obasanjo presiding over the affairs of Nigeria and thus, it was safe to settle that the odds clearly favour the South-South and South-East whose turn it was and whose yearning it was that led to the zoning arrangement.

He reminded Osinbajo that he would have also occupied the post of Vice President from the same South West for eight years by 2023. He said: “The same zone has, for 12 years since the Fourth Republic occupied the Speakership of this country for over eight years through Hon. Patricia Etteh and Hon Dimeji Bankole from 2007 to 2011, with the incumbent Speaker Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila who will spend four years by 2023.

“With this development, considering the fact that South East region has not, since the inception of the 4th Republic, occupied the seat of the President or Vice President of this country; and considering that the South-South region has, only through Dr. Jonathan Goodluck, occupied the exalted office for only five years, it will be immoral and unacceptable that Osinbajo or any other aspirant from the South West would be contemplating of getting the party’s flag for the Presidency against the South East and South-South regions of this country in 2023.

He said by his declaration, Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo has proved that he could not be trusted with the office of the President of Nigeria, having, on several occasions, caused serious embarrassments to the Presidency by trying to overturn the stand of President Muhammadu Buhari, particularly whenever the President entrusted power to him while on vacation or receiving medical attention outside the country.

Furthermore, Eze said it was important to note that Osinbajo presided over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting where Nigerians were denied the approval of the security surveillance gadgets that would have prevented the deaths of eight Nigerians and, many injured and many still kept by the terrorists. It is strange to note his stoic silence over this sad development while groups loyal to him have continued to blame Amaechi, the Transportation Minister, who saw tomorrow and pleaded with the VP and others to prevent the sad development.

Osinbajo’s bizarre reasons for rejecting such an important proposal simply demonstrates that he was grossly unfit to preside over the affairs of this nation.

Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo and those promoting him are fully aware that President Muhammadu Buhari told the nation, by January 2022, while chatting with the Channels TV, that he has a candidate for the office of the President and for him to now offer himself for the office of President without recourse to the opinion of Mr. President indicates that he was battle-ready to work against the interest of the President and his candidate while claiming that he was working to implement all programs of the Buhari government and the good of Nigerians.

The party Chief said assuming that the APC decides to zone the presidential slot to South West, which is very much unlikely, and with Prof. Osinbanjo ceasing to be a member of Lagos Chapter of APC after the revalidation of his membership of the party in Ogun State, it was still immoral for him to present himself for the 2023 presidential election as all the past Presidents of South West extraction were from Ogun State – General Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Ernest Shonekan and with him serving out his term as Vice President.

Such reality will fuel ethnic bigotry, hate and animosity amongst Nigerians of various tribes.

Eze queried the administrative competence of Vice President Osinbanjo and asked to know his inputs towards making this administration deliver its key promises to the country. “Comparing him with the Economic Team set up by former Vice Presidents of this country like Atiku Abubakar, Dr. Jonathan Goodluck, and Namadi Sambo who were seen to be far better and appointing most of his key economic Team from one section of the country.

Eze insisted that with the stated reasons and many others, the Vice President should withdraw his interest as a matter of urgency and save this nation the embarrassment his unlikely emergence would cause the nation.