Bola Tinubu, a presidential hopeful and All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain, claimed on Sunday that Nigerian youths can become president, but only after he fulfills his 2023 dream.
Mr Tinubu made the remarks in the palace of Oyo’s Alaafin, Lamidi Adeyemi, on Sunday.
“You will grow old, you will become president but I will become president first,” Mr Tinubu said in Yoruba at the palace. Previously he had chided the youth for not allowing him an easy passage into the palace, suggesting that their conduct did not show enough respect for him as a senior citizen.
“You are not giving room for the elderly to pass and you are not yet president. What if you become president, you will chase us out of town?” Mr Tinubu said.
The former Lagos governor has stepped up his campaign to succeed his political buddy President Muhammadu Buhari as the next president of Nigeria, although he has yet to make a formal announcement or disclose his platform. Despite concerns that his health was deteriorating, he has continued to ‘consult’ with political and traditional figures both inside and outside the country.
Mr Tinubu’s clothes was soaked behind when he stood up during a visit to the palace of the Awujale of Ijebu territory last week. His security aide was also spotted hiding his nose hastily. Rauf Aregbesola, Mr Tinubu’s estranged political partner, mocked him for urinating on his body during a campaign stomp a few days later.
While Mr Tinubu’s supporters dismissed the footage as skewed, his speech was slurred again today at the Alaafin’s palace, as it had done at prior public appearances by the presidential hopeful since last year.