2023: Osinbajo Support Movement Rejects Tinubu’s Forgiveness Comment

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu on Wednesday announced that he has forgiven the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo ahead of the 2023 races.

There had been insinuation that the duo are not on good terms due to Osinbajo’s decision to contest against Tinubu in the presidential primary of APC. Tinubu on Wednesday, while addressing a Kano group that supported Osinbajo in the buildup to the presidential primaries of APC, noted he does not have anything against the Vice President. The Osinbajo Support Movement (OSM) has, however, described Tinubu’s forgiveness statement as insulting. The group which stated that there is room for realignment in politics noted that the talk of forgiveness between Osinbajo and Tinubu is both an insult and a provocation. OSM in a statement released by its national coordinator, Liberty Badmus said it is not a crime that Osinbajo contested against Tinubu during the primary. The statement reads, “While the OSM welcomes the need for the APC flagbearer and other presidential aspirants to come together, the group rejects the use of the word “forgiveness” and the implications attached to it. “We note just like the flagbearer stated that both the VP and himself have met at least twice since after the primaries, any attempt to take a revisionist perspective by insinuating that an offence had been committed because a sitting VP decided to run for the Office of President is an unmitigated insult, completely unnecessary and such narratives ought to be totally discouraged. “We recall a meeting of APC Elders in the Southwest ahead of the primaries where the aspirants had resolved the issue concluding that all the aspirants had the right to contest. It is the spirit of that meeting that should be maintained not a derogatory effort which undercuts the solidarity required to take both the flagbearer and the aspirants including the VP forward.” The group warned that they would not accept that every group or individual in the camp of the Vice President is forced to support Tinubu’s agenda. According to OSM, Osinbajo has stated it clearly that they have the right to support the party’s candidate but warned that no one should ridicule them.

This article was originally published on Naija News