Three-term Senator Sani Ahmed Yarima has disclosed that President Buhari did not sign any Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bola Ahmed Tinubu to endorse his candidacy for 2023 presidential election.
This is coming after speculations that 2023 Presidency will be zoned to the South and Tinubu will be the anointed candidate of the south.
It would also be recalled that Tinubu’s presidential campaign posters were spotted in Lagos state six months after President Buhari was sworn in for his second term rule.
Yarima who spoke to Daily Trust said President Buhari will not be supporting any candidate in the forthcoming elections as he wants Nigerians to choose the leader they deem fit to rule them. The lawmaker also stated that there were no formal documents to support the widely assumed notion that Buhari will be handing over to the APC Chieftain come 2023.
It would be noted that Tinubu was one of the biggest sponsors that ensured Buhari mounted the presidential seat in 2015 and 2019 for his second term.
Senator Yarima said “I don’t think Nigeria belongs to any of them and I don’t think anyone in any position can determine what Nigeria should have. Politics is about election – for people to decide what they want. So it is the majority of the people that will determine who they want.
“If he(Buhari) signed an agreement with Asiwaju, that agreement cannot be implemented even in getting the ticket. It cannot guarantee Asiwaju a ticket. For example, the president has announced and the party has decided that our primary is going to be direct – just like we elected Mr. President during the primaries of the last general elections. Will he direct everybody to go and vote for Asiwaju?
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“Because, I believe it is going to be a free and fair election, agreement or no agreement is a political statement, but I don’t think that is possible because I don’t think that the Buhari that I know will sign any (such) agreement. He knows that he doesn’t have the powers and the authority to hand over power to whomever he so wishes. He said it is going to be free and fair; in fact, he even said it in the open that he doesn’t have any candidate. So, these are just speculations”.