National leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said he was against his wife, Senator Remi Tinubu, being a third timer at the Senate.
Senator Tinubu is representing Lagos Central in the red chamber since 2011, and in the twilight of her second term. Already the 58-year-old has bagged the senatorial ticket of the All Progressive Congress for the third time.
Dismissing suggestion making the rounds that he imposed unpopular candidates on the party, the former Lagos governor said at a stakeholders’ meeting, prior to the postponed Presidential and National Assembly polls, at Police College, Play-Ground, Ikeja that he never wanted his wife to return to the Senate but only bowed to pressure.
His word, “Let me tell the story of how Bayo Osinowo, APC Senatorial candidate for Lagos East emerged (displacing incumbent Senator Gbenga Ashafa). I was still thinking on the way to go for the primaries.
“I told them, we will not follow the third term syndrome. No candidate will go for a third term which also affected my wife Remi. I did not want her to go for a third term. But Prince Tajudeen Olusi, leader of the GAC and some members led the coup against that decision. I told them I wanted my wife back at home but they insisted that I must listen to them. And after much argument, I conceded and said I will obey you. That was how Remi got the APC third term ticket.
“Now coming to the East, (where Ashafa was also bidding to go for the third term and eventually lost out to Osinowo) I was contemplating on who could be our candidate when Kaoli Olusanya led leaders from Ikorodu to my house saying they have resolved to send Bayo Osinowo to the Senate for the East Senatorial District and that was it.”
