… Says his relationship with Tinubu, Osinbajo still intact
From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Former Special Advisor to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, has disclosed that his relationship with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, is still intact.
Ojudu’s revelation is coming against his recent media outings where he had consistently maintained his position of not supporting Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, but Osinbajo.
In this interview with Sunday Sun, Ojudu who represented Ekiti Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly from June 2011 to June 2015, said he made his choices because democracy guaranteed choices.
Among other issues, Ojudu also said that he has no regret in anyway for not supporting Tinubu to become president.
You have been in Ekiti, your home state for sometime. How is life in Ekiti?
Life in Ekiti is cool, pristine, simple, and deeply satisfying – far from the hustle and bustle of Abuja and Lagos. Here, we share love, not hatred. No cut-throat competition, no stress, no high blood pressure. We eat organic, not canned food. We breathe pure air and sleep soundly. The cock’s crow wakes us in the morning, and each day, we listen to the soothing calls of birds chirping and cooing, with goats bleating in the distance. In the night we sit and watch the moon and the stars. This is nirvana!
What is keeping you busy in Ekiti that you have concentrated so much in the state other than Lagos and Abuja where you should ordinarily be as a politician?
Books, arts and nature. I do a lot of mentoring here too. I grow things: plants, animals and people.
The governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, has been adjudged to be very peaceful and respectful, not making trouble with anyone. What is your relationship with him?
Very cordial, mutual respect. No drama. Collaborating!
At the national level, you supported former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in the events leading to the 2023 general election instead of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Twenty months after, do you have any regret not supporting Tinubu from the beginning?
I thought we are in a democracy, and democracy guarantees choices. How does regret or no regret come into this?
Why did you allow your political association with Osinbajo becloud you to the point of jettisoning your age-long relationship with Tinubu?
My relationship with Tinubu and Osinbajo is intact.
Some have interpreted your opposition to the Tinubu presidency as something beyond politics, that it is personal. Where did you and Tinubu part ways? What went wrong?
Did we part ways? I do not have evidence to support that assertion.
Going through your recent outings in the media, one could see that your relationship with President Tinubu is beyond ordinary, that it was very close. Why is it that others within the circle have not been able to broker truce or return you to the fold?
You don’t mend what is not broken.
Having associated with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a long time, what type of leader is he?
I am trying to find out. Will be able to make accurate assessment when he completes his term.
What do you think the Tinubu government has done rightly and wrongly?
This will be determined by time. We wait.
Despite everything, Nigerians are suffering, there is hardship across the land. Are you affected? How are you coping?
Reason I went back to my roots. Life here is cheaper, more meaningful. I am coping so well. My needs are few.
What do you think can be done to ameliorate the hardship, if not completely eradicated?
We are praying, making supplications to God. We hope God hears our prayers.
Your party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), is already talking about 2027 and your major support base, the North, northerners are highly agitated as a result of some policies of the Tinubu administration. Do you think the APC will get the same support from the North in 2027?
I am not a soothsayer. Only soothsayers see far into the future. Can’t you see that even our prophets no longer make the annual predictions? The future has become too difficult to see, even by those who claim to have been chosen.
During your recent exchange with an APC stalwart in Lagos State, an ally of Tinubu, on Facebook, he alleged that you were looking for something from the government. Have you reconciled with President Tinubu?
There is nothing I need in life that I have not got. I am thankful to God for all he has done for me. Alleluia!
