‘I’m not running because I need money’ – Tinubu speaks amid uncertainty over APC future

Former Lagos State governor and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said he is not in the race for president because he needs money.

Tinubu’s remarks is coming amid growing uncertainty over his status in the APC, with speculation emerging to the effect that the party’s screening committee has screened him out of the presidential race.

A supporter of the former Lagos governor, has disclosed that he is already considering his options and may join SDP or ADC to pursue his presidential ambition.

Meanwhile, speaking APC delegates in Ondo State at the governor’s office, Akure, the state capital, on Thursday, ahead of the party’s presidential primary on Sunday, Tinubu said Nigeria needed a president that would be intellectually sound with great ideas to tackle its various challenges, particularly, economic challenges, and not only by physical ability.

Describing himself as the most experienced and capable of all the aspirants of the party, Tinubu said he moved Lagos from a state of lower revenue to a state that generates billions of naira as revenue, boasting that if he could do it for Lagos State, he could repeat it for Nigeria development, if elected as president.

He said, “I am not running for the presidency because I need money, that was past but I am running for the love I have for this country, for the love I have for my people, and my commitment to development and value for education.

“I am not looking for a wrestling job, I am not going to the presidency to fight Anthony Joshua, I’m not running to compete with Ronaldo. All I am going to use is my brain. I am sure, I am a better thinker, I am a better doer. You, delegates, should distinguish us like kerosene on top of water.

“I, Bola Tinubu, I am a runner. Go to Lagos State, I built a state of great value for Lagos, it is a reference point. I will rebuild Nigeria, I will reunite Nigeria, I will develop Nigeria. I will use our diversity for our prosperity. Join me in an effort to reunite Nigeria. You will see prosperity and performance. I know I can do it.”

In his remarks, the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, reiterated that the presidency must come from the southern part of the country in the next election, saying there would be no endorsement in the forthcoming primary of the party.

“We have said it that presidency must come to the south. If we are talking about restructuring, we are not saying the country would be divided. Nigeria should be paramount in our hearts,” Akeredolu stated.