TheCable

Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state and national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says he gets the best hands for political offices.

Known to be a kingmaker in the Nigerian political terrain, Tinubu’s influence has grown since 2007 when he left public office, and he has described himself as a talent hunter.

“I am a talent hunter. I put talents in office, I help them,” he told Reuters. “I use the best hand, the best brain, the best experience for the job.”

Reuters quoted Clement Nwankwo of the Situation Room, a civil society group, as saying Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s president-elect, would feel an obligation to Tinubu.

“The party he led is half of the APC. He can … lay claim to that power,” Nwankwo said. “Buhari will feel an obligation to him.”

Through his Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Tinubu led the merger with political parties like the All Nigerians Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) to form APC, which put an end to the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rule.

PDP not only lost the Macrh 28 presidential election, but also majority of the parliamentary and governorship seats contested in the April 11 election