Chief Bode George, the former Deputy National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP, South West), has reacted to the allegations going round in the media, where it was reported that he said he will work with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu if asked, saying that he never made such a statement, that the media misinterpreted him.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, George addressed the rumours that were circulated on Friday, the 2nd of June, where it was alleged that he said that he will work with Tinubu if he was invited to. He emphatically said that the statement was false, that the media had twisted his words out of proportion.
“They asked me that what would I do if Tinubu calls me, and I said precisely, exactly, that if he calls me, I will pray for Nigeria. Listen, I am not a flip flopper, by any profession. I retired as a general, what will he be calling me for? We don’t belong to the same party,” he said, adding that he will be civil to Tinubu only when the court cases that the PDP filed against Tinubu and the APC are over.
Addressing the members of the media who interpreted him wrongly, he said, “Let some of these people put on their thinking caps and stop spreading unnecessary rumours. I am not a green chicken, I can fight when it is necessary.
“I did not say that, and I will never say it. I am not looking for any job, and I have reached the end of my own public career,” saying that he has given about 40 years of his life to politics, and he had finished his course in politics.
When he was questioned about his rating of the performance of the military at 5%, he said that it was not true, saying, “I said openly, confidently, and I am repeating it today, that it was Buhari’s administration that I was referring to. How can I rate my own professional boys 5%?” He further said, “I told them pointedly that as far as I am concerned, the administration of general Buhari and the APC…. I told them that if I had to rate their administration, I would give them 5%, that they failed woefully. I am not afraid to say it, because you can all see the effect of the state of this nation,” saying that the country was doing very poorly due to the Buhari administration
Speaking on Tinubu’s announcement that led to the immediate removal of subsidy at the end of May, rather than at the beginning of July, he admitted that while it was not his area of operation, he understood why Tinubu made the choice of removing subsidy immediately, as there was a “monumental hole” in the funds of the government, and that the removal of subsidy will help to fill the hole.
However, he acknowledged that the sudden announcement and removal had caused hardship for a lot of Nigerians. “He should have sat down, done a thorough bred analysis, the impact assessment and what they will do, not slam dunk it on everybody.” He further referred to the situation saying, “This was a calamity that was far more than expected.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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