Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, came out Sunday to put paid to rumours making the rounds that he is interested in becoming the running mate of former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) in the 2015 presidential election.
Speaking at an event commemorating his 2,700 days in office and account of stewardship in Ikeja, Fashola distanced himself from any plan to present a consensus candidate in the 2015 general elections, saying there is due process for candidates to emerge in his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Fashola attended Buhari’s formal declaration of interest to contest the 2015 presidential election at Eagles Square in Abuja. This went a long way to stoke the intensity of the rumour.
Fashola, in response to that, said he was at the declaration because Buhari personally invited him, being an APC event and based on the respect he had for him, stressing that there was nothing extra-ordinary about his presence.
According to the governor, “My presence at Buhari`s declaration was because he came to Lagos to personally deliver an invitation letter to me. It was a pointer that I respect him. It was a pointer that it was an APC event. And it was pointer that I went to a party event.”
He went on to urge Lagos residents to use their ballots to ensure that the APC retains the governance of the state in the next election, stressing that experimenting a government led by another party might not do the state any good.
Equally debunking speculations that those seeking to govern Lagos State under the platform of the party are holding meetings to endorse a consensus candidate, Fashola stressed that the APC has a constitution which prescribes primaries as prelude for emergence of candidates for elective offices.
His words, “Well, you said you heard they are meeting to produce a consensus candidate in our party. If you are aware, that is investigative journalism, go and investigate more. And find out what you can find out. But I believe the constitution of our party provides for primaries for the emergence of candidates.”
The Governor credited all the aspirants in the APC governorship race as being good enough to succeed him, basing his faith in them on the fact that they all acquitted themselves remarkably well when they had course to serve the state.
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