Politics
Jakande rejected calls to vie for Nigeria’s presidency – Tinubu
The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, said on Friday the late first civilian governor of Lagos State, Lateef Jakande, rejected calls by some groups to contest for the country’s presidency.
Tinubu, who stated this at the Eight Day Fidau Prayer held for the former governor at his residence in the Ilupeju area of the state, described the deceased as a true progressive and leader.
He said: “We have listened to the clergymen, to our father (Jakande) who have gone to answer the call of Almighty Allah. We pray that God will forgive all his sins, accept him into Aljunas fidaus.
“To the family; it is not your loss but ours. We cannot be all alive forever. Allah destined the date we will depart. Today is eight days, we all assemble here to pray for Alhaji Jakande. Well, if I start to write, I will write an epistle, I am one of the few lucky men to grow under him.
“This is the house I learnt to become a politician and my journey to political life. Alhaji Jakande said go, we need many like you, go to the Senate and the rest is history. To our junior brothers and sisters, may God bless you, and set you on the right part of success.
“To all of us in Lagos, we have been extremely lucky to have him, extremely lucky to draw from the fountain of his knowledge.
READ ALSO: 15 things you may not know about the late first civilian governor of Lagos, Lateef Jakande
“Nigeria equally is lucky but when the crisis of military and many others arose, we met him and said we want Jakande. But the ex-governor said he is no longer interested in becoming the president in the midst of chaos.
“We asked him to come and lead, he said no, the field is left for us. He has left an open field.
“There is no way one can say we will beat his (Jakande) record. He is already immortal, it is only our own character and vision that will drive our mission.”
In his sermon, the Chief Imam of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdulrahman Ahmad, said nothing can stop Tinubu from becoming the next president of Nigeria if it is God’s plan for the ex-Lagos governor.
He urged well-meaning Nigerians to support the APC chieftain in his 2023 ambition.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...