Nigeria
At Alake’s Birthday, I did not meet Tinubu – Obasanjo
At the Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, Alake of Egbaland,’s 80th birthday celebration on Thursday, former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s meeting with President Bola Tinubu was denied.
In a statement released on Saturday by his special assistant for media, Kehinde Akinyemi, ex-president Obasanjo highlighted a TikTok video that erroneously claimed that Tinubu and Obasanjo had a meeting on Thursday.
According to the statement, “the former president condemned the fake post, which also lifted a banter conversation that the two had when he hosted the former governor of Lagos State last year before the country’s general elections this year.”
Obasanjo, in the words of Akinyemi, argues that the author of the “fake, disjointed and sicken(ing) post”) should search elsewhere for what they are seeking.
See the full statement below:
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied the claim that he met with President Bola Tinubu at the 80th birthday reception of the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, on Thursday.
A video clip on a TikTok social media platform with “@asiwajuwoldwidef” as the profile name of the account was posted to falsely claim that Tinubu and Obasanjo met on Thursday.
This was contained in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, in which the former president condemned the fake post, which also lifted a banter conversation that took place between the two when he played host to the former Lagos State governor last year before the country’s general elections this year.
Akinyemi stated that the former President, who is now in South Africa for the burial of his friend and brother, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, held today, said the architect of the fake, disjointed, and sickening post should rather look elsewhere for the work he or she is looking for and not through him.
“I have not seen Bola Tinubu since he visited me in my house in Abeokuta when he was campaigning. Secondly, I was at the church and not the reception for Alake’s 80th birthday reception,” he said.
To put the content of the video in proper perspective, it happened that during Tinubu’s visit to his house last year, he met the former President playing his favourite traditional game (ayo), and he started the banter, jokingly telling the former President that he was shocked to see him playing the Ayo game at that time of the day.
Spontaneously, as he was getting up from his chair to welcome him and other accompanying visitors, Obasanjo responded, “When I don’t have a job, If you are ready to give me a job, I am ready to do it.”
Shortly after, Tinubu was heard praying for longevity in Obasanjo’s life as they both walked into the sitting room with others.
This is however contrary to the meaning the viral video is putting out, as Obasanjo says, “I am not looking for work, and I am not working with anyone, as the fake news puts out. Those who are looking for people to work with Bola Tinubu should look outside Obasanjo,” he declared.
Kehinde Akinyemi
Special Assistant on Media
Sept. 16th, 2023
