Former deputy national chairman (south-west) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Bode George says he will leave Nigeria if the national leader of the All Progressives Congress Bola Tinubu becomes president in 2023.
Tinubu recently informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his intention to contest for the party’s presidential ticket. The announcement has since raised dust in the polity.
George, who has been a longtime political foe of Tinubu, said the former Lagos senator and governor is not capable of managing the country.
“Let me remind him (Tinubu) because he is a Yoruba man. In my part of the world, kingmakers are called afobaje. When you are a kingmaker, you do not throw yourself in the ring and say you want to be king,” George told Vanguard in an interview published on Saturday.
“So, by saying publicly that he is a kingmaker and now he wants to be king, it is a fallacy. As Nigerians, we must challenge and x-ray anyone who throws his hat in the ring because when you come out to campaign, you tell people to trust you with the resources of the country for the betterment of the people.
“And so, if you look at his (Tinubu’s) past and all he has done, is he worth throwing tantrums all over the place? It is an insult to us.”
The former military governor of Ondo State said there was nothing personal between him and Tinubu but that he (George) speaks truth to power.
He said he would not support Tinubu to be president even if the latter asks for his endorsement.
When asked if he would go on exile if Tinubu emerges president, the ex-chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said, “I will move away from Nigeria, I’ll leave because he will be your representative in the international plain.”
He added, “Which investment will he bring here? I am not talking because I have any hatred for him. This is not the kind of person we can hand over this massive country to manage.”
