Abati: I thought I could rattle Tinubu during media chat — but he knows what he’s doing

by Nathaniel Shaibu

The Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication and Orientation, Sunday Dare, has said that he did not stab President Bola Tinubu in the back to accept an appointment in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

Tinubu last Wednesday appointed Sunday Dare as Special Adviser on Public Communications and Orientation.

The former Minister of Sports and Youth Development under the Buhari administration, insisted that his acceptance of the appointment was in response to a national call to duty.

Dare, made the statement during Thursday night’s Politics Today programme on Channels Television, stating that Tinubu supported his appointment, having played a role in Buhari’s emergence.

“For every appointment I took, I had his endorsement. Before I went to NCC, I had his blessing. I never stabbed him. That was a call to national duty, and it was not without his knowledge and support. That was a national duty and I had his blessings”.

“When you are appointed, it’s not a political move, it’s a call to duty. The APC is a party. Back up and look at the role Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu played in the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari. I can say clearly, without Asiwaju’s role in forming the party, in making the platform to be there, in moving away from alliances, political alliances to mergers, President Muhammadu Buhari would not have emerged”, he said.

The Presidential aide also argued that he was not solely responsible for suggesting Buhari’s Presidency to Tinubu in 2015, noting instead that he was part of a team charged with rebuilding the “democratic image” of the former President.

“I did not pitch Buhari to Tinubu. There’s a difference between pitch and a difference between when we have a candidate, Sunday work together to make this candidate acceptable. That’s the difference. I was part of rebuilding the Democratic image of former President Buhari, so it couldn’t have been only me. It was a team”, he stated.

Dare also argued that Nigeria was “moving in the right direction” under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, despite the hardship in the country, adding that the “gestation period” for the administration’s policies would take between two to five years.