2023: ‘It’s a ‘done deal’ Tinubu will contest — Jibrin

The Director-General, Tinubu Support Groups Mgt. Council, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has confirmed that former Governor of Lagos State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will indeed be contesting in the forthcoming 2023 Presidential election.

“Sometimes I find it a bit funny when I hear people saying is he contesting or not. The only thing that is left is just the formality of organising an event where he is going to express his aspiration, just to notify the public that, yes, I am going to contest. But the issue of Bola Tinubu contesting is a done deal. He is going to contest the election; he’s going to be on the ballot paper,” Jibrin said in an exclusive interview with Channels Television on Saturday.

“What I keep telling people is that, it is one thing to be qualified to be President, it is one thing to be able to make a competent President, and it is another thing to be able to win a presidential election. They are two different things. You have so many people within the APC that are competent and qualified to become President. But it is completely different”.

According to Jibrin, Tinubu has all it takes to defeat any other candidate in the election.

“For me, the person who has an edge over all of them, that we can hand over the ticket to and perhaps go back home and sleep, is Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,” he said.

“I can assure that if you give people a choice of someone who will come and improve on what we already have on ground and revamp the economy and improve every part of the country – people just want to see progress, to see development. For me, it doesn’t matter if you bring a Christian-Christian President or a Muslim-Muslim president.”

Speculations about Tinubu’s ambition to run in the 2023 election is one that has been highly debated over the past year.

While he has yet to officially declare his intentions, several political groups have drummed support for him with billboards and posters in some parts of the country, especially major cities – Lagos and Abuja.

In December 2021, the APC Chieftain had said he will consult widely before making a decision on whether to run for the Presidency or not.

“I am not going to turn them down,” he said of voices that have clamoured for his candidacy. “But I will still effectively and widely consult, particularly brainstorm with my friends and find a date to come out openly and tell Nigerians”. (Channels TV)