There is a brewing feud between President Muhammadu Buhari and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and it is in turn causing fractures in Aso rock especially with aides according to reports.
According to the Independent, the treatment being given to Tinubu by people in Aso rock is grating on the nerves of some presidential aides who are loyal to Tinubu.
It is widely believed that Tinubu was a major factor in Buhari taking power and the aides believe the APC chieftain should be accorded more respect.
The issue is that they feel Tinubu is being kept out of the loop and that even Vice President Osinbajo who is close to Tinubu isn’t briefed on many decisions to be made until the last minute.
The feud seems to have created factions with some aides on the side of the President and others on the side of Tinubu. Though officially the feud is said to be nonexistent, there have been hints of the two keeping away from each other.
For example, Tinubu was absent a little while ago when President Buhari visited Osun State on a one-day working visit as part of the 25th anniversary of the creation of the state.
He was also absent at the Edo State APC gubernatorial grand finale campaign rally in Benin City, Edo State, where President Buhari campaigned for the party’s governorship candidate, Godwin Obaseki.
The Independent reports that a principal officer in the South West claims that there is a concerted attempt by some who are close to the President to ensure the feud persists.
It was also claimed that there is an effort to reduce the power Tinubu wields within the party citing the example of the death of Abubakar Audu, former governorship candidate of the party in Kogi State and how it was believed that the ticket would then be handed to James Faleke a rumoured protege of Tinubu but instead went to Yahaya Bello who was second in the primaries.
The official also claimed that aspirants looking to seek office in the South West no longer came to Tinubu but instead went to some key officials in the presidency.
The most recent example was in the Ondo state primaries where Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) won against Tinubu’s candidate Segun Abraham.
Akeredolu’s victory was openly celebrated by supposed Tinubu haters and this irked his loyalists.
According to the official, “There is an ongoing attempt to reduce the influence of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the party. It is like those close to the president are telling him he doesn’t need the support of Tinubu or any other leader in the South West to govern the country. It is not only Tinubu, even Papa (Bisi) Akande is not happy with ongoing developments in the party”.
“I can authoritatively tell you that this has polarised the aides of the president, especially those loyal to President Buhari and those on the side of Tinubu.
“They no longer trust themselves and there is no way they can achieve common goal if they continue along that line.
“Look at the recent election in Ondo, many of us in the party believe that there is no way Akeredolu could have won without the support of the president’s men”
The Independent reports that another party source revealed that the feud probably started from the time when Lai Mohammed claimed that Buhari was not the national leader of the party. He said Buhari was a product of the party and not its head.
According to the source, “This statement from Mohammed, who is seen to owe his loyalty to Tinubu, angered those loyal to President Buhari. Aside seeing it as an affront, they also believe it is a calculated attempt to belittle the president.
“Though Alhaji (Lai Mohammed) never said out rightly that Tinubu is the national leader of the party, many believe that his statement is a veiled one to the fact that Buhari is not the party’s leader”.
“To counter this claim, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, spoke on the same programme a few days later where he explicitly stated that President Buhari is the national leader of the APC”, he said.
“As it stands, Tinubu has no official position in the APC. Many thought he will be elected as the party’s Board of Trustees’ chairman but that was not to be. As at now, his power is confined to the South West and that is also being threatened given what played out in Ondo State recently”
None of the aides allegedly involved in the feud have responded to any of the above comments.