The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has admitted that he worked for the former President of the Senate and APC presidential aspirant, Senator Ahmad Lawan in the run-up to the party’s presidential primaries.
But, the APC national chairman said, despite working for Lawan, he deserved to be commended for the victory of President Bola Tinubu.
Adamu stated that the rumoured differences between himself and the president were unfounded, adding that before the emergence of Tinubu he had the right to support whoever he wanted.
He said he was misrepresented about his position on the recently elected principal officers of the national assembly, adding 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.
The chairman said Saliu Lukman, for instance, who has always accused him of running a one-man show, has always attended those meetings.
According to him, 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of Lukman to take the party to court was a grave offence even though he later signed a deal that his case had been withdrawn from the court and apologising for his misdemeanour.
He said, “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, adding that since he led the party to success, he should be commended.
Adamu said he had a right to hold his opinion on Lawan before the primaries, noting 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. (Vanguard)
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