VICE-PRESIDENT Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday paid President-elect Bola Tinubu compliments on his victory at the recently concluded 2023 presidential election.
Tinubu, who campaigned on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the small hours of the same day.
After a hard-fought battle, the former Lagos State governor defeated Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 poll.
Before Tinubu’s emergence as the party’s candidate, Osinbajo was one of his major challengers at the June 6, 2022 APC presidential primary, a move many of the political godfather’s supporters found to be disloyal.
Osinbajo had been appointed to serve as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State under Tinubu between 1999 and 2007, paving the way for his rise to become vice president in 2015.
Nevertheless, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo spoke glowingly of his former principal, while also congratulating Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima.
“In your previous years of public service, you have demonstrated a consistent fidelity to progressive and welfarist ideals, and an ability to build bridges across several divides.
“These attributes are needed especially at this time, to reach out to disaffected sections of our society and to meet the aspirational expectations of our young people who have shown such a strong desire to impact our democratic process in a positive way.”
Earlier, while presiding over the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Osinbajo had led federal ministers to congratulate the former governor; his wife Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the First Lady-Designate; and Shettima.
The statement quoted the Vice President as saying, “We wish him (Asiwaju) the very best as he prepares to lead the country in the next few months.”
