Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has ramped up consultations with influential figures, including traditional rulers, asserting he deserves to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023, having served him, Bola Tinubu and others well.

Mr Osinbajo said when called upon to serve as vice president of Nigeria, it was providential as he was not a politician then and disclosed that Mr Buhari helped him understand governance better.

“He has kept no secret of governance away from me; he has made sure that I have seen everything that needs to be seen. Again, I had the good fortune of serving as acting president on many occasions and on each of those occasions, he would tell me that as far he is concerned, I am the president of Nigeria; ‘do not refer anything to me’,” Mr Osinbajo explained, suggesting he is a bona fide presidential candidate for the APC. “‘Do not call me; just take the steps that you need to take. I will not question your discretion in any way’, and he never did.’’

The vice president said that in the past seven-and-a-half years of serving as vice-president, he had been able to see for himself and observe for himself what had been done right. He said he had observed what could have been done better and various other things.

“I think that when the opportunity arose for me to decide whether or not to run as president of Nigeria, I had only one question to ask myself. That question was whether I would be faithful to my oath to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and to the people of Nigeria to serve with all my heart and to serve with my entire mind,” Mr Osinbajo further reasoned. “That is the only question I had to ask myself because I have served previously; I have served others in various capacities, and I have given everything.”

The vice president stated this in the Alake of Egbaland’s palace to brief the monarch on the progress that he had made so far in his presidential ambition. Mr Osinbajo also paid courtesy visits to the Akarigbo of Ijebu-Remo and the Olu of Ilaro. 

“I served under Prince Bola Ajibola, judge of the World Court at The Hague. I served when he was the Attorney-General of the Federation; I was one of the only four advisers in the entire federation at the time,” said Mr Osinbajo. “I was his adviser for five years. When he went to the World Court, I was with him there for at least a couple of years; I served as attorney general of Lagos state for eight years.”

“I want to say that every one of those people who I served in their most difficult moments did not regret it…in moments even when their jobs were threatened; in moments, sometimes when their lives were threatened, I was with them,” Mr Osinbajo pointed out.

He added, “Sometimes, I was the only one standing with them; I cannot go into details for confidentiality reasons, but that is the truth.”

Mr Osinbajo urged the traditional ruler to support him in his quest to become president in 2023.

(NAN)