Lagos – A former Chief Whip of the Senate, Prof. Sola Adeyeye, has said that both Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo cannot separate or absolve themselves from the failures of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government and the shortcomings of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC).

Despite Tinubu’s declaration that he will be contesting the 2023 presidency on the platform of APC, Osinbajo on Monday also indicated interest in the same position.

This has led to Tinubu’s supporters referring to Osinbajo as Akintola who betrayed the late Premier of the Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. However, in a statement entitled ‘Slandering Osinbajo with Dubious Parallelisms’, Adeyeye warned supporters of both men to avoid creating slanderous parallels, saying Tinubu is not Awolowo while Osinbajo is not Akintola.

Adeyeye, who urged Tinubu and Osinbajo to exercise restraint and handle the issue of who gets the APC presidential ticket with caution, also warned them against inflicting mortal wounds on each other before the main presidential election. He said, “Now that Osinbajo has declared his interest in the presidency, it is time to answer the simpletons drawing wrong parallels in history by comparing PYO’s putative intent (now turned declaration) to the sad parting of ways between Awolowo and Akintola.

Such comparison is rooted in abject ignorance and malignant mischief. We must clear these scurrilous insinuations from catawaulers whose sole intent is to dispense vicious calumny.

“The confusionists conjuring these poor parallelisms go as far as invoking the name of Judas Iscariot to demonise those who have acted outside their own scripts.

Clearly, such comparison is rooted in the unholy trinity of bad faith, ignorance and mischief. In particular, to evoke Awolowo’s name to suffocate political space is a damnable perversion of history.

“Although it is the party in power, the APC does not look as formidable as it did in 2015 when it tapped into widespread disaffection against the PDP to defeat the incumbent president.

All members of the APC must accept the fact that their party is facing resentment such as the PDP faced in 2015.

For this reason, APC aspirants must not inflict mortal wounds on each other before entering the contest against the candidates of other parties.

“As Vice President to Buhari, Osinbajo cannot totally separate himself from whatever are the perceived shortcomings of Buhari’s presidency.

By the same token, Tinubu as National Leader of the APC, cannot totally absolve himself from the perceived failures of the APC government.

Whatever is good for the goose must be good for the gander! “May God grant Osinbajo and Tinubu the exceptionalism to handle the nomination process with grace. Specifically, the APC must be spared the silly innuendos and slanderous snide remarks currently exuded by overzealous supporters of various aspirants.

“Zealous support for any aspirant must not be stretched to the point of creating slanderous parallels. Tinubu is not Awolowo. Osinbajo is not Akintola. In both cases, the differences are extremely glaring. Conjuring such parallelisms serves neither the aspirants nor the APC”.