The national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has denied granting an interview in which he allegedly said defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party would stop President Muhammadu Buhari from vying for a second term in office come 2019.
Tinubu, in a Friday statement through his media office, described the article as the “latest work of political deceit” and the “figment” of the imagination of the writer.
While challenging the writer to come forward with proof that an interview of such nature took place, the two-time Governor of Lagos State said he would not hesitate to serve defamation papers on the writer.
According to him, the article was a calculated attempt by the PDP to stop the wave of defections among its ranks by insinuating that there was crisis in the APC.
“The story falls in the genre of the hit-man tactics of the politically desperate. Clearly, the schemers behind this are minions of the collapsing PDP. Their party is falling apart before our eyes, with multiple defections by the day. They fabricated this story to discourage further defections and to sow discord in the APC. However, the discord will remain where it belongs: the PDP.
“Tinubu has never publicly commented on the defections of people from the PDP, much less making derogatory remarks about the phenomenon. In fact, if you check, he has welcomed many former PDP members into the APC. Tinubu is a democrat and a progressive. He believes that the APC is and shall always be opened to those who share its progressive beliefs and who are committed to a better Nigeria. The more people of like minds gather, the stronger the party and the more likely it is to achieve the objective of building Nigeria anew,” the statement read in part.