Tinubu says he has forgiven Osinbajo for daring to stand against him in APC primaries

FORMER Lagos State governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu said he has forgiven vice president Professor Yemi Osinbajo for daring to stand against him during the parties recent primaries.

In June, Asiwaju Tinubu emerged as the APC presidential candidate after coasting home in a landslide victory following the party's convention in Abuja. On the day, the convention turned out to be a three-horse race between Asiwaju Tinubu, Professor Osinbajo and former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi.

At the end of the counting, Asiwaju Tinubu got 1,299 votes, with Governor Amaechi and Professor  Osinbajo securing 316 and 235 votes respectively. it is believed that the contest left bad blood bet5ween Asiwaju Tinubu and Professor Osinbajo as the mentor/protégé relationship between them may have been destroyed beyond repair.

However, speaking in Kano, Asiwaju Tinubu said a man who asks forgiveness from God must be willing to forgive others. He said he has nothing against the vice president as he will work with everybody, noting that he visited the vice president at his house after the primaries, and also interacted with him during the ministerial retreat.

Asiwaju Tinubu said: “I have nothing against him. I have been to his house after the primaries and I have seen him on the day of the goodwill message to the retreat organised by the president.

“A man who forgives, a man who asks for forgiveness from Allah fully deserves forgiveness. If you cannot give forgiveness, how are you asking from Allah? To me, it is over."

Professor Osinbajo, a political ally of Asiwaju Tinubu, served as Lagos State attorney general and commissioner for justice when his principal was governor between 1999 and 2007. It was Asiwaju Tinubu who recommended him to President Buhari as a running mate in 2015 but the two men could not agree to stand down for each other in 2022.