Osinbajo’s team disowns ‘member’ who appeared on Arise TV

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s team have disowned Co-Convener, ‘Osinbajo Think Tank’, Olugbenga Olaoye, over his comments on Arise TV Morning Show on Wednesday.

Special Adviser, Political Matters to the President, Office of the Vice President, Babafemi Ojudu and Osinbajo’s media aide, Laolu Akande distanced the VP from Olaoye in separate statements on Wednesday.

Olaoye while featuring on the show had said Nigerians should vote Osinbajo as president because he had no health history like President Muhammadu Buhari.

Olaoye said: “We know what happened to President Muhammadu Buhari at the inception of his administration, he spent a lot of periods away from Nigeria because of his health. I don’t wish anybody ill-health, we are all seated here today doing what we are supposed to do because we have good health. It is also on record that some people saw that as an opportunity to hijack the government. It is only recently that we are seeing some activities around the vice president’s office.

“So, if the president is hale and hearty and mentally fit, I heard it on good authority that when Vice President Osinbajo directs the affairs of the FEC, it’s a different ball game, it’s like a bank’s MPR (management performance review). So, we need a leader who is mentally sound, articulate and can inspire confidence in the people that he is leading. So this is our conviction and our hope for a new Nigeria.”

But reacting via a tweet, Akande said Olaoye does not represent the VP, furthing stating that he wasn’t aware of the group named Osinbajo Think Tank

“Indeed this gentleman does not represent the VP nor the Office. His views are completely & totally his own. This particular opinion he has expressed on TV is deplorable and in bad taste. I am not even aware of the so-called Osinbajo Think Tank he purports to represent. Pls IGNORE.

“Just so we are clear, the gentleman is Olugbenga Olaoye who was a guest on AriseTV Morning Show yesterday morning,” he tweeted.

Ojudu also in a statement he personally signed said Olaoye’s views ran contrary to the VP’s views and persona.

He further called on media houses to reach out to the VP’s office before inviting anyone to represent his camp.

“Our attention has been called to certain off-key representation of the Vice President, going to the media to assert opinions that run contrary to his views and persona.

“The Vice President is focused on his job, while seeking the ticket of our great party. He has been a loyal, dependable and hardworking partner in delivering the progressive promise of people centered good governance, devoid of guile, in the past seven years.

“We enjoin media houses and journalists to reach out to our office to ascertain the accreditation status of representatives of varying support groups, that have since sprung up across the country, in fervent support of the Vice President.

“While we appreciate the spontaneous support for the Vice President and the willingness of these support to express themselves in the media, there has been various representatives that have gone to the media as aides of the VP or his representatives, who were wrongly tagged so. We hope the media will be circumspect in tagging these voices, and carefully vet these claims in the future.

“We are committed to civil and reasoned discourse and debates, in the next few weeks, and must avoid any kind of negativity that is not in line with the vision and temperament of the Vice President,” Ojudu said.