Renowned economist and public affairs commentator, Pat Utomi in an interview published by Vanguard has spoken about the circumstances surrounding the emergence of Bola Tinubu as National leader of the APC.     

Excerpt:

There was a new movement called the National Democratic Initiative, NDI. This party was led by northern politicians including President Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Chief Olu Falae and I was invited to become a co-convener. And the argument presented to us was that northerners may see us as being incorporated into the SDMM which was a southern movement. But if we had this one and we all came together, everything will fall in line with what we aimed to achieve.

One day I returned from a foreign trip and Chief Olu Falae called me. He said it was appropriate that as the face of the party, I should be the Chairman. While I was out of the country, they had elected me the Chairman of the party. I accepted. And that was why I became the Chairman of the SDMM.

Wale Okuniyi, the CPC governorship candidate in Ogun State, said the best strategy was to allow the respective parties in the NDI to produce their presidential candidates. Then all the candidates will come together and one of them will be chosen to vie for the election. And we will all support that person. He said that SDMM had decided that I be the party’s presidential candidate in 2011 and my reply was that I didn’t have money. He said I should not worry.

And at one of the meetings of the NDI held before the polls, we had President Buhari, Mr. Fola Adeola, Nuhu Ribadu, Shekarau, Tony Momoh, Oyegun in attendance. But at the last minute, the thing flopped. And I decided that there was no need contesting if we could not get a viable opposition.

After that election, I went to see the former Lagos State governor (Tinubu) who was with us in the NDI process because we had meetings at the Lagos House and the governor’s lodge in Ikeja. I met with him and I said that if we were going to get a formidable opposition, he needed to lead. He laughed but several months later he called me to say we should discuss the issue with President Buhari. I told him that I was exhausted because I knew how many times I had gone to Kaduna and other places. I was not interested in leading but willing to follow. And I asked him to go and if he achieves it, I will follow him.

He later called me to say Buhari accepted the offer and that was how we are where we are today.