March 16, (THEWILL) – Former Lagos State governor and presidential hopeful, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has pleaded with senators of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to support his ambition to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
Tinubu made the appeal while meeting with about 70 APC senators who honoured his invitation to speak to them about his presidential bid on Wednesday, at the Senate wing of the National Assembly.
Tinubu asked the lawmakers to back his ambition, urging them to consider his “experience and capacity.”
“I came for your counsel, partnership and support. I believe that you can back me for my lifetime ambition”, he said.
The two-time former Lagos State governor related to the senators his discussion with President Buhari about his ambition, noting that he doesn’t want to become enemies with the president because of his presidential bid.
“Nigeria has come to a point where we need a change of baton. Mr President is rounding up his second term.
“I told Mr President that my ambition is not blind to the extent that I will step on his toes. I just want to step into his shoes and not on his toes.
“I want to beg you to look at my capacity and my experience. I am perhaps the only one who has been in the Senate, who has been a governor and aspiring to become President”,Tinubu was quoted as saying by Abubakar Sidiq Usman, the Special Assistant on New Media to the Senate President.
Meanwhile, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who led the APC senators into the session with Tinubu, said the APC caucus of the Senate has remained true to the ideals of the party since they were elected in 2019.
Sidiq said the lawmakers acknowledged Tinubu’s achievements when he was a governor (of Lagos state) and member of the National Assembly
Lawan told Tinubu, “2023 is going to be defined by what we do between now and then and what we have done between 2015 and now. That means we have to remain focused as an administration and United as a party.
“You have done so much as a governor. You were a member of this National Assembly and a member of this special legislative organisation.”
Tinubu, who declared for the presidency after meeting President Buhari in January, has continued to hold consultations with relevant stakeholders regarding his ambition.
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