They accused Tinubu of sabotaging the war against insecurity in the country and instigating Nigerians, especially those from his South-West region, against the Buhari-led government.
Members of the Aso Rock cabal have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to place Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on watch list.
The cabals comprising some members of the President’s extended family and friends are the powers behind the throne.
This group, led by Buhari’s nephew, Mamman Daura, is said to have the ear of the President, influence policies and determine those who get major appointments.
They accused Tinubu of sabotaging the war against insecurity in the country and instigating Nigerians, especially those from his South-West region, against the Buhari-led government.
The group urged the President to order security agencies to investigate the recent activities of the APC stalwart.
“They accused him (Tinubu) of instigating Nigerians against Buhari. He was also accused of sponsoring different groups to cause unrest across the country.
“I think they (cabals) think this is another method to tame Tinubu ahead of the 2023 elections after a lot of noise in the APC in which his allies lost out.
“They are doing everything within their power to stop the President from supporting Tinubu’s ambition come 2023,” a presidential source told SaharaReporters.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, played a key role in the political merger of parties in 2013 which created the APC.
Although he has yet to openly declare his political plans for the next election, Tinubu is widely believed to be gearing up to succeed Buhari, whose second and final tenure ends on May 29, 2023.
It’s unclear how far Tinubu and Buhari trust each other and whether the President would support the former governor as the APC candidate for the next presidential election.
Recently, the APC dissolved its national working committee based on the recommendations of Buhari, which some political analysts have alleged was done to reduce Tinubu’s influence in the party.
The removal of the APC leadership, known to have been backed by the former governor, fuelled suspicion of a fractious relationship between him and the President.
Meanwhile, a group alleged to be sponsored by some northern politicians during the weekend called on the police to arrest Tinubu over the ultimatums issued to Fulani herdsmen in Ondo and Oyo states by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and a Yoruba activist, Sunday Igboho respectively.
The group, Northern Patriots Assembly, accused the APC chieftain of being responsible for the crisis between Yoruba youths and Fulani herdsmen in the South-West.
Governor Akeredolu had last week ordered herdsmen to leave all forest reserves in Ondo State within seven days, while Igboho asked herdsmen in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of Oyo State to leave, blaming the leadership of the Fulani for being behind the rising insecurity in the state.
“All these threats, suspense and deliberate heating of the polity, we believe are at the instigation of the so-called South-West political leader, Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, all in the name of politics,” the group said.
“We cannot but see the hand of Tinubu in all these because of his inordinate ambition to become the president of Nigeria and his penchant for bellicosity anytime he is targeting a political prize horse. Tinubu as we all know is seriously eyeing the presidency come 2023. But as we inch closer to the election year, it is becoming glaring to him that the odds do not favour him.
“Instead of accepting his fate quietly as power does not come from man, Tinubu is trying to upset the apple cart by heating up the polity and making the country ungovernable. This is with the hope that after he has turned the country upside down, he will be called to negotiate, to state his demands where he will insist that the presidency be handed over to him or the mayhem continues.
“This is self-serving and an unpatriotic act that should be condemned by all. A country cannot be set ablaze just for the ambition of one man no matter how stupendously rich he thinks he is.
“Last year, the former Lagos State governor was also fingered as one of the sponsors of the #EndSARS protests which almost destroyed Nigeria. Many online media reported at the heat of the protests that Bola Tinubu was sponsoring the #EndSARS protests in the Southwestern part of the country in order to cripple the country and bring the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari into disrepute on the global front.”
Aisha Buhari, First Lady of the country, had incurred the wrath of the 'cabal' after her aide-de-camp and other security details forced her husband's Personal Assistant, Saibu 'Tunde' Yusuf, out of Aso Villa after he refused to embark on a 14-day isolation, in line with COVID-19 protocols, following a trip he had made to Lagos.
Yusuf, according to findings by SaharaReporters, was thoroughly beaten by the Guards Commander of Mrs Buhari after he refused to quarantine upon returning from Lagos in company with five women.
Angered by the situation, it was gathered that the cabals initiated several meetings to get back at the First Lady, whom they considered to be blocking their plans in the Villa.
This was after Yusuf and Buhari's Chief Security Officer had ordered the arrest of Aisha’s ADC and other security details.
Efforts to reach Tunde Rahman, media aide to Tinubu, for comments were not successful as of the time of filing this report as he did not answer when SaharaReporters called his line.