Aji said it was the northern leaders that compelled Tambuwal, a presidential aspirant of the PDP, to withdraw from the presidential race so as to enable a former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, to emerge as the winner of the presidential primaries.
An All Progressives Congress Senator, Muhammad Abba Aji, has advised the South-West leaders and traditional rulers to learn from what happened in the Peoples Democratic Party and how Governor Aminu Tambuwal accepted to step down his ambition.
Aji said it was the northern leaders that compelled Tambuwal, a presidential aspirant of the PDP, to withdraw from the presidential race so as to enable a former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, to emerge as the winner of the presidential primaries.
Senator Aji, while speaking on Channels TV on Tuesday, said Bola Tinubu, Ibikunle Amosun, Kayode Fayemi and Tunde Bakare should withdraw from the race and support Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President.
He said, “There are lessons for the South West; from the behind-the-scenes, we have seen how (Rivers governor, Nyesom) Wike lost and wasn’t expecting to lose, but actually what happened is behind the scene actions of northern leaders.
“It wasn’t by accident that Tambuwal withdrew; no. Tambuwal was compelled by the northern leaders working behind the scene; I want the South-West leaders particularly the elders, traditional rulers and royal fathers of the South West to come to the aid of the South-West.
“Everybody should come and queue behind Osinbajo who is the person that actually has the best chance.
“It wasn’t easy to make Tambuwal to withdraw but it was the task of the northern leaders to avoid political alienation because if Tambuwal had not withdrawn he would have split the votes along with Atiku and this would have given a clear victory to Wike; so looking at it and inevitably we saw from regional point of view because politics is all about interest, northern leaders had to do what they had to do and I’m calling on the South West leaders to do so similarly. They should ask the four other contestants not to cause alienation of the South West but to support Vice President Osinbajo to emerge as president.”