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Chief Bode George, former Deputy National Chairman (South-West) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has insisted that he would not congratulate Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his election as the next president of Nigeria.
The PDP chieftain while speaking on Arise TV on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, said he bears no grudges against Tinubu but he would never say or send a message congratulating the president-elect.
“For now, I don’t agree with going to say congratulations. I will never. Bode George will never do that,” he said.
On the delegation that recently visited him at the behest of Tinubu, he said he had already told the outgoing Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila about what he expects the Tinubu-led administration to do in Lagos.
“First of all, Femi Gbajabiamila had been here, we had discussions, I told him all the things I would want them to do in Lagos. What matters to me is that let Lagos be like the best city in the world, make life more meaningful, impact on the minds of the people positively because the power rests with the people”, George said.
The delegation led by Retired Justice Isola Olorunmibe and Tajudeen Olusi, the leader of the Governance Advisory Council in Lagos State had requested to visit Tinubu but the PDP chieftain turned down their request.
Although two PDP governors have congratulated and visited Tinubu but George said he can’t because doing so would portray him as a swine or a traitor.
He said, “So, for me, the last option, the last request was that we should, whether the court has finished or the court has not finished or the processes is over — I should join the others to go and congratulate Bola Tinubu like our group, Wike and Seyi had done.
“I said I’m not Seyi and I’m not Wike. I’m much older than them, that’s their opinion. For me, if peradventure, at the end of the analysis, our party is looking forward to winning at the court. If I jump ship, how would I look like? Like a swine, like a traitor?
Tinubu was declared winner of the February 25, presidential election on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).