A Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Plateau, Saleh Mandung Zazzaga have asked the National leader of the APC, Ahmed Bola Tinubu to apologise to Nigerians over comments made years ago against Nigeria.
Zazzaga tasked Tinubu to apologise to the old and young for saying he does not believe in one Nigeria in 1999.
The APC Chieftain said although Tinubu made the comment many years ago, it is now being recalled by Nigerians especially as he declared his intention to run for office in 2023.
Speaking to journalists in Jos, Plateau State, Zazzaga said if Tinubu does not apologise to Nigerians, it will put his candidature and APC in a bad light.
“In Thisday publication of April 13th, 1997, Tinubu granted an interview in which he was quoted as saying, ‘I don’t believe in one Nigeria’. And that interview has resurfaced since his presidential ambition declaration, people began to raise eyebrows, asking damaging questions.
“So many people have been calling and mocking us, saying if he does not believe in One Nigeria, how come he wants to contest for the Presidency of a nation he did not believe in.
“This has been agitating the minds of members of the APC and it is not good for the well being of the party as the nation counts down to the 2023 general election.
“Therefore, the most honourable thing for Tinubu to do is to come out and apologise to Nigerians on the comments which he made before this democratic dispensation which began in 1999, and he should as well explain the rationale of the interview to Nigerians and point out if he was misquoted or not.
“Whatever his explanation would be, at least it will calm peoples nerves and save the party from being projected in a bad light.
“And that will not only project him as a true leader of the party or as a presidential aspirant but it will prove that he is a man of honour and dignity and someone who will take responsibility for his words, deeds and actions.
He urged Nigerians to believe in the APC as a party of progressives that has the capacity to move the nation forward, irrespective of the current challenges which nation will soon overcome.
