A former Governor of Borno State, Kassim Shettima, has
apologized to the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and the Senate President, Ahmad
Lawan, over the “pains” his recent comments may have caused them.
Shettima said his recent comments were not intended to
portray Osinbajo and Lawan as unworthy presidential aspirants.
Insisting his comments were not meant to denigrate the Vice
President and Senate President, Shettima said his remarks were “merely to
qualify them as non-threatening contenders” to Bola Tinubu, an APC presidential
aspirant.
Shettima had said Osinbajo was not a good fit to become
Nigeria’s President.
Featuring on Channels Television, the former Borno State
governor had said Osinbajo’s “delightful” character can’t earn him the
Presidency but should be selling Gala and popcorn.
However, the former governor said the comment was not aimed
at subjecting Osinbajo and Lawan to ridicule, stressing that his interview was
taken out of context.
Taking responsibility, the former governor insisted that his
remarks about Osinbajo and Lawan were overblown.
A statement by Shettima titled: “My Channels TV Interview
Taken Out of Context” reads partly: “When I appeared on Channels TV last
Thursday amidst the tension rippling through our political arena, it was to
underline the promise Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidential bid held for those yet
to establish the certainty of the hurdle ahead of the APC. I never set out to
denigrate the personality of any aspirant, and definitely not that of my dear
friends and allies.
“My assessments of Yemi Osinbajo, and the President of the
Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, were well-intentioned.
“I never set out to subject them to ridicule but, rather, to
stir up interest in the contrasting virtues of the cast of aspirants putting up
a fight against my preferred aspirant, one most favoured and advantaged to
guarantee APC’s victory in the forthcoming presidential election.
“The interpretations of my remarks on Osinbajo and Senator
Lawan are, thus, being done literally and overblown. My words weren’t woven to
portray them as unworthy aspirants, but merely to qualify them as
non-threatening contenders.
“I, however, take full responsibility for my utterances and
wish to appeal to our teeming supporters to neither take my words out of their
metaphoric contexts nor interpret them as a measure and declaration of
hostility towards my dear friends and allies.
“I, hereby, tender my unreserved apologies to the Vice
President and the President of the Senate for the unintended pains my jibes
might have caused them and their families and supporters.”
He called on supporters of all presidential aspirants to
unite in the interest of the party.
Shettima is one of the strong allies of the All Progressives
Congress, APC, presidential aspirant, Bola Tinubu.
It is widely believed that Osinbajo betrayed Tinubu by
opting to contest for the Presidency alongside the former Lagos State Governor.
Tinubu is believed to be Osinbajo’s political godfather, who
tutored him in the act of politicking.
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