Osoba: South-west leaders made Tinubu Nigerian president | We’re confident he’ll deliver

Olusegun Osoba, a former governor of Ogun state, says political leaders in the south-west gave their support to President Bola Tinubu to win the 2023 elections.

Osoba said leaders in the region in 2007 agreed to push Tinubu from Lagos politics to the national level after serving as the state’s governor.

Osoba was the governor of Ogun state from 1999 to 2007 when democracy returned to the country after the military rule.

Speaking at the All Progressives Congress (APC) south-west zone assembly meeting held over the weekend at the Lagos Hotels, Osoba said Tinubu has the support of the political leaders to contest for another term when his current tenure expires in 2027.

“Bola didn’t make himself the President of Nigeria; we did,” the former governor said.

“Seventeen years ago, in 2007, after his tenure as the governor of Lagos State, we gathered at a luncheon organized by Alhaji Hamsa, our leader in the south-west at that time.

“It was at that meeting we collectively decided that Bola should move from Lagos politics to the national stage, to represent the interests of the Yoruba people at the topmost level of Nigerian politics.”

Osoba also recalled political figures from the Yoruba race who aspired for the presidency but were unsuccessful.

“Many of us here today worked tirelessly to support the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s quest for the presidency, but he wasn’t allowed to get there.

“Similarly, we rallied behind the late MKO Abiola’s presidential ambition, but we lost him, and with him, the opportunity,” he said.

“They killed many of us because of our mission to make this country better. But we thank God that some of us are still alive to witness Bola Tinubu’s success.”

He pleaded that whatever shortcomings might have been observed in Tinubu’s leadership should be forgiven, and he should be given a second term.

“Now that Bola Tinubu is there, I want to plead with all of you to accept his shortcomings. He will do better. After his first four-year term, he will serve another four years as a Yoruba son,” he said.

Osoba also passed a vote of confidence on Tinubu’s leadership on behalf of the group.

“The south-west Assembly’s message is clear – the Yoruba leadership stands united behind Tinubu’s presidency and remains confident in his ability to deliver on his promises during his tenure,” he said.