Tinubu Group to Bode George: You’re still living in the ancient days

Akwa Ibom State Steering Committee of the Tinubu Support Group on Sunday tackled the Peoples’ Democratic Party stalwart, Bode George, saying his comment on the presidential declaration of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is an indication that he (George) is a primitive critic still living in the ancient days.

George had, in a chat with The PUNCH last week, described Tinubu’s decision to run for the presidency as a “huge joke.”

“This so-called ambition must be a huge joke. The Presidency of Nigeria is not for characters like Bola Tinubu. Look at how he mismanaged the resources of Lagos State. It is surprising that he can even dream of becoming the President of Nigeria. He is living in cuckoo land,” said George.

But fielding questions from newsmen after a media briefing in Uyo, the Coordinator of TSG in the state, Hon Ifiok Inyang, said though the constitution recognises freedom of expression, George has flagrantly abused it by insulting someone like Tinubu whose pedigree is being celebrated across the political divide of the country.

According to him, “Bode George is entitled to his opinion and we have freedom of expression. So, if he says Tinubu, who is being celebrated across the political divide of this country, made a declaration that is a huge joke, it, therefore, means that he is still living in the ancient days, not the world of today.”

He described Tinubu’s declaration as the “greatest political news of the year, adding that it has ignited a spark that triggered two APC members to also declare their interest in the presidential race.

He added, “It came strong and powerful, reverberating across the entire direction of our national political landscape. It stirred the somewhat somnolent political space of activities in the land into a frenzy.

“Shortly after it broke, it ignited a spark that compelled at least two other top members of our party, the APC, to also declare interest in running for the office as president of our motherland. The days head will be interesting to witness.”

Inyang said no Nigerian should make no mistake about Tinubu’s presidential aspiration, adding that by declaring his intentions, he was responding to the yearnings of Nigerians to step into the nation’s political “cockpit” and fly the country above its current socio-economic and political issues, above insecurity and above underdevelopment into a destiny of a contended citizenry.