#2019: Call for automatic ticket for Buhari no reason Tinubu should ‘cry more than the bereaved’

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State on Saturday took a swipe at the acclaimed national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, describing the latter’s disposition over his claims that 34 governors have endorsed Muhammadu Buhari for the presidential poll in 2019 as amounting to ‘crying more than the bereaved.’

Okorocha’s remarks came as he fielded questions from newsmen after receiving an honorary doctorate degree at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State.

Asked what he thought about Tinubu’s insistence that that there would be no automatic tickets for candidates in the forthcoming party primaries against 2019 polls, Okorocha said, “The statement came to me as a surprise. Come to think of it, I never referred to him. I referred to the governors of Nigeria including the PDP governors and I said only one or two of them have not joined yet.

“Since I made the statement, no governor has said something contrary to what I said. I am surprised that Asiwaju will now be speaking for the governors. He looks like somebody crying more than the bereaved. I did not see reason for the statement actually. But he commands my respect and I don’t want to join issue with the National Leader of my party.”

Read also: Gov Okorocha’s plot to handover to son-in-law takes shape as Imo Assembly endorses Nwosu

Okorocha who has courted several controversies lately insisted that his position did not mean that he was against the party conducting primaries for prospective candidates.

“What I mentioned was for the governors and secondly what I said is support. The word I used is support that does not mean there will not be primary. Governors can only contribute only 37 votes, we still have over 5,000 votes up there. What I was talking about was governors. I was not talking about other party members. Governors alone do not determine the flagbearer of a party.

“If you recall, I said but for Buhari, I would have run for presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But I found in him a man credible and he still has four years term to do. I will allow him to complete and I will go back to my political trenches because I would still run for presidency anyhow. I consider myself young enough to wait until 2023 and I don’t hide my stand on any issue. But for now, my support goes to President Muhammadu Buhari,” Okorocha said.

 

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