Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, has chosen silence as the leader of pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Ayo Adebanjo; and former Interim APC National Chairman, Bisi Akande trade words over the sponsorship of Abebanjo’s Lekki house.
Akande in his 559-page autobiography titled ‘My Participations’, launched in Lagos on December 9, 2021, had claimed that the 93-year-old Afenifere leader pestered Tinubu to build him (Adebanjo) a house in Lekki, where he now resides.
Akande on Page 415 alleged, “One day, Sir Olaniwun (Ajayi) was launching a book at Muson Centre, Lagos. After the book presentation, Tinubu said I should not go and that he would like to see me. We met in a small room where he also invited Sir Olaniwun Ajayi. ‘Papa, you can see that this document is old, Tinubu said as he handed over a big envelope to Ajayi. This is your C of O (Certificate of Occupancy)!’
“Tinubu told me later that after he presented Adebanjo’s C of O to him, Adebanjo was always pestering Tinubu until he helped built a house on the plot. The street was also named in honour of Adebanjo and he is living in that house now at Lekki Phase One.”
Akande, in the book, also attacked former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo; a former Minister of External Affairs, Chief Tom Ikimi; and other elder statesmen who were critical of the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Reacting at a press conference on Thursday, December 16, 2021, exactly a week after, Adebanjo said it was shocking that Tinubu had yet to set the records straight on the allegation made by Akande despite that the former Lagos governor once praised him (Adebanjo) for his “incorruptibility and strength of character”.
The elder statesman said, “A lot has been said in the press and the social media to demolish tantrums. But I owe a duty to myself and to put the record straight for posterity about the big lie that Bola Tinubu built my house in Lekki for me. I therefore deny categorically that my house at Lekki was built with my resources through the sale of three developed properties, loan from GTBank and the sale of undeveloped landed property given me by my late leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, of blessed memory.”
Efforts to get the comments of Tinubu on Friday through his Media Aide, Tunde Rahman, proved abortive as he neither took calls nor replied a text message as of press time.
