The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has firmly denied allegations of his appointment as the political leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The controversy stemmed from a widely disseminated report titled “Tinubu appoints Interior Minister political leader in Ondo,” which the Minister vehemently dismissed as false. Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alao Babatunde, the Minister expressed his disassociation from the claims.
The official statement released on Wednesday clarified the Minister’s stance: “It has come to our attention that a news article … claiming that Hon. (Dr) Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has been appointed as the political leader in Ondo state by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We would like to categorically state that this report is entirely baseless and fictitious.”
Addressing the specifics of the purported appointment, the statement confirmed that no formal or informal meeting regarding such a decision had taken place. “There has been no meeting held with all the local government APC chairmen and leaders in Abuja, as alleged in the article,” it further disclosed.
With the APC’s governorship primary election looming, Minister Tunji-Ojo called for a fair and cordial competition among aspirants, reflecting on President Tinubu’s democratic principles. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR), as the father of the nation and as the leader of the party, is a democrat whose interest is always to promote unity and peace and would not be involved in any action that will undermine that,” the statement read.
The Minister urged the public to dismiss the baseless article and advised them to seek trustworthy information from credible sources to prevent the spread of misinformation.