A Group, Progressive Lawyers for Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has raised an alarm over the recruitment of mercenaries against the Vice President sequel to his declaration to run for the office of the President in 2023.
The Group’s Convener, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, in a statement issued and made available to newsmen on Friday in Abuja, said that the attack was aimed at de-markerting the Vice President.
He said that all efforts were being made to malign Osinbajo, while alleging that about six different characters were said to have been sent to Ogun State Ikenne, his home town for the onslaught.
According to him, this was to get the requisite information from his kindreds that could allegedly discredit him and also recruit his kinsmen against him in his state all in an effort to malign him.
He said that this attempt had gone across party lines from both some presidential aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He also added that the PDP as a party was particularly jittery of his soaring popularity, stressing that his entry into the race had caused panic among them.
He noted that the PDP would not stop at anything to de-market and malign the person of Osinbajo.
“But it is a pity that they are doing this to someone who has warned all his supporters not to attack or abuse anybody”, he said.
He said that the Vice President had urged his supporters to concentrate on the values he would bring to the table, and what he plans to do for the nation.
“So in days to come, do not be surprised to see more of their fabricated lies and contrived false allegations, but the question you need to ask yourself is why all these now,” he said.
Ajulo fingered an executive of a media house, a cleric and a serial presidential contestant and sympathizer of a former governor from South West of being behind the campaign of calumny against Osinbajo.
“We know them, there’s nothing hidden under the sun, but as lawyers, the due process will be followed to ask for redress and ensure the perpetrators are dragged before the court,” he said.
He however said that the identities of the perpetrators would soon be made known.
“Since the Vice President’s declaration to run for office of the President in 2023 on April 1 people have narrowed down the presidential race in the APC to Osinbajo and Tinubu.
“People also believe that his coming in may polarise the votes of the South West delegates between him and Tinubu thereby putting the region in a disadvantageous position,” he said.
Ajulo however said that by the position of Osinbajo as Vice President, he has the right of first refusal.
He said that some people thought that Osinbajo’s interest to contest was going to affect their chances, and are therefore looking for everything under the sun to de-market the party and de-market the candidate.
” Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Prof Yemi Osinbajo are leaders in all ramifications and South West is their base, but don’t let us miss this point the state is that of President of Federal Republic of Nigeria and not South West.
“What matters most, is that the best candidate, the most experienced emerges as candidate of the party.
“This is not only that he is the most experienced aspirant today; politically he is the most experienced. Then when you talk of his intellectual prowess, he is there,” he stated.