Abdullahi Adamu: I Supported Lawan, But Won Election for Tinubu

•Says APC willing to receive Wike-led G-5

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, yesterday said he deserved some commendation despite working for Senator Ahmad Lawan in the run-up to the party’s presidential primaries, even if only for the fact that he (Adamu) presided over the victory of President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking on Arise Television, THISDAY’s broadcast arm last night, Adamu stated that the rumoured differences between himself and the president were unfounded, pointing out that before the emergence of Tinubu he had the right to support whoever he wanted.

He stated that he was also misrepresented about his position on the recently elected principal officers of the national assembly, saying that what the APC had issues with was the manner the communication was handled by the lawmakers.

Adamu said those who have issues against him have always had the opportunity to air their views at their national meetings, explaining that Saliu Lukman, for instance, who has always accused him of running a one-man show, has always attended those meetings.

He stated that the decision of Lukman to take the party to court was a grave offence even though he later signed a deal that his case had been withdrawn from the court and apologising for his misdemeanour.

“I think that’s a soft selling point for you media people. It is true that at the time that I made a presentation to the National Working Committee (NWC), the name of Senator Ahmed Lawan was thrown up.

“That was before the convention. So many things took place between then and the actual date of the convention and you saw what culminated in the convention unanimously. I was there and I led the convention of the party.

“A day after the convention, I took the entire working committee to his (Tinubu’s) house in Asokoro and assured him of our support and said we will stand shoulder to shoulder with him and ensure that the mandate was sold properly to the people of Nigeria. We won the election. Instead of being praised, we are vilified,” he said.

He stated that it wasn’t the time for vilification, expressing the view that since he led the party to success, he should be commended.

Adamu said he had a right to hold an opinion like he did on Lawan before the primaries, but noted that once it was clear that Tinubu emerged, every member had to rally around him.

He said he currently has a good working relationship with Tinubu since his election, noting that the president has always given him his full attention each time they met.

Adamu said he would be willing to disagree with the president on any matter because there’s freedom of speech in the country, explaining that the so-called altercation with the president remains media creation.

The national APC chairman said reports about himself and the president not on the same page remain speculative, urging the media to be fair to him.

On his comments which were reported about the Ondo governor that the governor, Rotimi Akeredolu was extremely incapacitated, Adamu stressed that there was no such pronouncement at his meeting with state chairmen.

The chairman further said the future of the APC remains very bright, explaining that his hope was that in the next four years , Tinubu will get renewal for a second term.

He noted that he wasn’t bothered by media reports of differences with the president , pointing out that his main task at the moment is to keep the party as one strong entity.

Adamu also said he was willing to accept the G-5 governors led by Nyesom Wike into the APC, noting that they will be most welcome whenever they decide to opt for the APC.