Former Lagos state governor and national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has said he will not play dumb to calls for him to contest the 2023 elections for the presidential seat.
Tinubu stated this on Tuesday in Abuja after a closed-door meeting with certain Northern elders in Abuja.
The politicians operating under the aegis of Alliance Committee was led to the meeting by their Chairman, Ambassador Lawal Mohammed Munir.
Tinubu told his host that he would make a declaration at the right time, after extensive consultations with friends and associates.
He told members of the Alliance Committee that he was also being careful not to distract President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he noted deserves the cooperation of all genuine patriots to succeed in governance.
He said, “I am not going to turn them (Nigerians) down, but I will still effectively and widely consult, particularly brainstorm with my friends and find a date to come out openly and tell Nigerians.
“But the president is still in office, I don’t want to distract him from all the challenges that he might face today.
“So we will consult and make our programme known to the people later and the intention is clear. So you keep guessing.”
Meanwhile, there are insinuations that both the national and presidential conventions of the APC would hold next year.
Speaking on the outcome of the meeting with Tinubu, leader of the group, Ambassador Munir said the meeting was very successful.
“The meeting ended very well. We are working for him. We are working for him because we know he will win the election when the time comes”, he said.