VP Yemi Osinbajo defies pressure to step down for Tinubu

The vice president and presidential aspirant Prof Yemi Osinbajo has defied the pressure mounted on him to withdraw from the ruling All Progressives Congress’s presidential primary in favour of his political benefactor Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

Osinbajo came under intense pressure from party stalwarts, particularly from the southwest, to step down for Tinubu.

But at the ongoing national convention of the party in Abuja, Osinbajo urged delegates to consider his aspiration to emerge as the standard-bearer of the party in the 2023 poll.

Osinbajo, who was welcomed to the podium by the deafening chants of “We want you” by his youthful supporters which rented the air for about 10 minutes, said his position in the last seven years had accorded him the opportunity of having a first-hand experience on the nuances and complexities of running the country.

“You cannot wish the country well and vote for somebody you don’t believe in,” Osinbajo said. “To our dear delegates when you vote tonight know that your votes have the answer to your prayer for our country and the future.”

He promised to turn around the fortunes of the country by harnessing the vast human and natural resources that abound in the entire 36 states of the country if voted into power at the poll.