By Yusuf Alli
‘Ganduje aware of parley’
President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu met last week in Paris, France with Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso for the sake of national unity, cohesion and development, Rep Abdulmumin Jibrin said yesterday.
Jibrin, former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, said there is no need for anybody to be jittery over Tinubu’s meeting with the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) presidential candidate for the February 25 poll.
He said Tinubu would not abandon those who supported him during his electioneering.
The lawmaker stated this in an audio message he sent to The Nation yesterday. The message is a further denouncement of an alleged leaked voice recording in which the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, was reported to have expressed displeasure over the meeting.
Kano State Government had on Saturday dismissed the audio clip as the handiwork of paid agents bent on causing disaffection between Tinubu and Ganduje.
Jibrin, who said in the audio message that Tinubu consulted with Ganduje before the Paris meeting, added that the governor and Kwankwaso were capable of sorting out whatever differences existed between them.
He said: “I don’t believe that the President-elect will abandon people who supported him for anything. Again, what is paramount to him is national unity, cohesion and development.
“Also, don’t forget that Kwankwaso and the President-Elect have come a very long way. This is something that many people should know and are aware of. They have been friends since 1992 when Kwankwaso was deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President-Elect was a Senator chairing the Committee on Finance and Appropriation.
“Likewise, they were governors in 1999 and they related very well. And again, they continued their relationship when Kwankwaso was a minister of Defence, the President-Elect was still the governor of Lagos State.
“The relationship continued until 2011 when Kwankwaso returned as a governor and Asiwaju was a leader in the opposition movement and both of them worked very closely to establish the APC(All Progressives Congress).”
“I think these are the parameters from which they want to peg their relationship and take it up from there.
Like every other Nigerian, I was very shocked when I listened to that audio. But I think the most important thing is to confirm to you that Governor Ganduje was consulted and he himself confirmed this to me.
“He (Ganduje) told me in clear words that the President-Elect invited him and told him that he is planning a meeting with Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso. He asked Ganduje if he has any objection to it and Ganduje told me that he told the President-Elect that he has no any objection to it.
“So it very unfair, very extremely unfair to the President-elect to be portrayed in bad light before the public by Governor Ganduje who knows very well that the President-elect consulted him before that meeting. He confirmed that to me clearly. It is very very unfair to the President-Elect.”
On the differences between Ganduje and Kwankwaso, Jibrin said: “ After confirming to me that the President-elect told him that he will be having a meeting with Kwankwaso whether he will object or not, of which he said he has no objection, he told me he has no any problem with Kwankwaso.
“He(Ganduje) said his only issue with Kwankwaso was just that lately Kwankwaso has been attacking him. Promptly, I also told him he is guilty of the same because he also at several fora has been attacking Kwankwaso.
“I said to him that well that I believe that as leaders that both of them can sort out themselves. I promised him that I would convey his message to Kwankwaso and that was how the conversation ended.”(the Nation)
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