The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has said Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State is his partner and not a rival and that his intervention in Oyo APC is to engender genuine reconciliation not to hide or supplant him from the position of political influence in the state.

The APC leader was reacting to a report by SaharaReporters that Asiwaju Tinubu was moving to ban Governor Ajimobil from leading APC campaigns in Oyo. The report hinged on Tinubu’s intervention in the state by holding discussions with some notable leaders and bringing back to the party’s fold former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala.

Tinubu described Governor Ajimobi as an excellent governor and a faithful member of the APC, adding: “He has brought progress to the state and in serving two consecutive terms, Ajimobi made history in Oyo. He is instrumental to anything the APC can achieve in Oyo.”

A statement on Monday by Tinubu’s Media Adviser, Tunde Rahman, said Tinubu was only lending his support to the efforts of the Governor and the APC in the state, noting that “they are partners not rivals.”

He described the report by the online medium as “another excursion into falsehood”, adding: “This report goes beyond a lie. It is a vindictive attempt to sow discord because the writer is angered by the APC’s success in the presidential election. Thus, the writer has cast truth aside in his angry desire to inflict some kind of electoral wound on the APC.”

The statement reads in part: “SaharaReporters seems unable to mend its ways. Instead of trying to publish what is fair and accurate, it rather grows its tales from seedlings of untruth and calumny. This online newspaper no longer bothers to offer the pretense of seeking the truth.

“For SaharaReporters, whatever is sensational must be true and whatever is true must be sensational. The real truth is that SaharaReporters no longer cares if its reportage is right. SaharaReporters just cares that it is widely read. It dare not allow veracity to hamper its business model. This is a disservice to ethical journalism which honors truthful, accurate reporting.

“The report titled ‘Tinubu Bans Ajimobi from Appearing at APC Governorship Rallies’ is another of SaharaReporters’ excursions into falsehood. The report claims that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu somehow has banned Governor Abiola Ajimobi from attending APC campaigns for Saturday’s governorship election in Oyo State.

“The mischief that SaharaReporters cites is not between Tinubu and Ajimobi. It is solely in the mind of SaharaReporters. By its unsubstantiated report, the medium seeks to set brother against brother. Asiwaju and Governor Ajimobi have been political brothers and allies for a long time. Their friendship existed long before SaharaReporters came to the scene and will endure long after this self-diminishing online site is no more.

“Moreover, Governor Ajimobi has been an excellent Governor and a faithful member of the APC. He has brought progress to the state and in serving two consecutive terms, Ajimobi made history in Oyo. He is instrumental to anything the APC can achieve in Oyo. The truth is that Asiwaju is not trying to supplant or hide the governor. Instead, Asiwaju is lending his support to the governor’s and APC’s efforts in the state. They are partners not rivals.

“As such, he has held strategic meetings with some notable groups and important individuals. The heart of the discussions was the need for all to come together to achieve victory for APC in the March 9 governorship poll. At no time did the issue of banning anybody, talk less of Governor Ajimobi, enter into the discussions. We want and need Governor Ajimobi to be a visible figure at the forefront of this campaign during these final decisive days. He will prove pivotal to our hope for victory in the state.

“SaharaReporters betrayed its abject bias with this report. It makes absolutely no sense to even try to stop a sitting governor from campaigning in that Governor’s state. Such a move would only create enmity and hinder, not help a campaign. For SaharaReporters to claim this is to claim that Asiwaju is a political novice. Asiwaju has never barred anyone from participating in a campaign. Why would he now start with Ajimobi in Ajimobi’s own state? The relationship between them remains solid and loyal. And one hundred false reports by one hundred SaharaReporters cannot change that reality.”

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