The House of Representatives Minority Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, on Sunday hailed the choice of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) as the running mate to the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), describing the choice as a “political masterstroke”.
He noted in a statement that Buhari and Osinbajo were a combination of “integrity and excellence”.
The minority leader, who said he had known the professor of law for about 40 years, commended also commended a former governor of Lagos State and a national leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for supporting Osinbajo’s emergence as Buhari’s running mate.
He argued that there was nothing wrong in Tinubu, whom he described as modern-day “political strategist”, playing a key role in Osinbajo’s selection as Buhari’s running mate.
“I want to specially commend our National Leader, Bola Tinubu, who with uncommon poise, exhibited and showed leadership, dexterity and political deftness, all in one fell swoop.
“To those on the other side of the divide, who in the absence of anything substantial to argue, cry that Buhari delegated his responsibility of picking the vice-presidential candidate to Tinubu, I have this to say: In modern-day politics and in a democratic party, the selection of a vice-presidential candidate is always a collective.
“But more importantly and in any case I would rather delegate to a known and proven intellectual and political strategist of Asiwaju’s stature than delegate, or, even as it appears in this case, abdicate presidential responsibilities”.