The Director-General, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Campaign Organisation, Senator Kashim Shettima, has said it will be catastrophic if the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not elect Tinubu, as its presidential flagbearer in the 2023 Presidential election on Monday.
He described Tinubu as the big elephant in the room of the APC and ruled out the aspirant stepping down for any Lilliputian.
Shettima, spoke in an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, anchored by Seun Okinbaloye who had asked whether Tinubu would be disposed to stepping down for any other aspirant if President Buhari decided to pick another consensus candidate, and he replied that it was not possible.
According to Shettima, “The issue of stepping down does not arise, he is the elephant in the room, how do you expect an elephant to step down for a Lilliputian? On a more serious note, the issue of (Tinubu) stepping down is mere speculation.
“More especially, even the speculation on anointment, the president’s special adviser came up to dispute it.”
Shettima contended that the best aspirant that APC has to offer is Tinubu and that the party did not have any option, as he is the only one who could match Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
He added that Tinubu had built men and institutions, and that calling him first among equals was an insult.
Shettima insisted that without the bloc support from the Southwest, Buhari would not have become President in 2015, even as he reeled out statistics.
Also, while speaking on Journalists’ Hangout on TVC, Shettima said it would be “catastrophic” for the APC if Tinubu, was not elected as the party’s presidential candidate.
“We are in a democratic situation but I’m afraid it might be catastrophic for the party. I’m not a prophet of doom; I’m an internal optimist. We have done our own bidding and by God’s grace, our candidate will emerge as the presidential flagbearer of the APC in the next 72 hours,” he said.
“It is not a subject of dispute but a question of time. He has paid the price, and yesterday in Abeokuta, he made some remarks that were deliberately distorted and quoted out of context.
“Whether they are willing to admit it or not, he played a pivotal role not only in the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari as the candidate of the APC, but in the ultimate election in 2015,” he added.