The presidential aspirant on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has debunked the report which quoted him to have said that he was “ready to get dirty” to become the President of Nigeria in 2023.

Tinubu, a national leader of the APC, was quoted to have said this during his visit to the Olubadan-Designate, Senator Lekan Balogun, on Sunday.

The APC chieftain’s visit to the residence of the Olubadan-Designate was in continuation of his consultation which had taken him to some prominent traditional rulers.

The former Lagos State governor, who has since declared his intention to run for the country’s number one office in 2023, was quoted to have said: “No amount of intimidation can stop me. I am ready to get dirty. I am out to become President of Nigeria. We are at a crossroads.”

However, Tinubu, while reacting to the quote which was greeted with wide condemnations, denied saying he was ready to get dirty to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

He stressed that his words at the residence of the Olubadan-Designate was “if you decide to wrestle with a pig, you must be ready to get dirty”.

The presidential hopeful, who made this known via a statement issued by his media aide, Tunde Rahman, described the national newspaper’s report as “groundless, misinformed and misdirected”.

The statement read: “In continuation of his consultations and engagements with the traditional rulers and critical stakeholders across the country, AsiwajuBola Tinubu on Sunday, February 20, 2022 visited the Alaafin of Oyo, Iku Baba Yeye, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111, and on his return from ancient Oyo town, he paid a courtesy call on the Olubadan-Designate, Senator Lekan Balogun.

“Speaking at the residence of Olubadan-Designate, the All Progressives Congress National Leader, Asiwaju Tinubu, referring to some of the unwarranted attacks against him used the metaphor of wrestling with the pig, saying if you decide to wrestle with the pig, you must be ready to get dirty.” He said he had accepted to take the insults and dirt thrown at him by some people as a price to pay for venturing into politics and seeking to be President of Nigeria.

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“Since that outing, we have seen a Page 1 lead report by Vanguard Newspaper captioned “I’m ready to get dirty -Tinubu,” which reported the APC leader’s statement out of its right context and claimed he vowed to fight dirty if there were plans to halt his presidential ambition in 2023.

“This caption and report are inaccurate and erroneous. Sadly, the wrong headline and story have been latched on by some online platforms/blogs and commentators to pour invective on Asiwaju Tinubu.

“These commentaries and remarks are unfortunate because they are groundless, misinformed and misdirected. Hence, this clarification has become imperative.

“It bears restating that at no time during the visit and in his speech did Asiwaju indicate that he would fight dirty for his presidential ambition. His words were carefully chosen. They did not lend credence to such interpretation as given by the Vanguard Newspaper.”

He added: ”For clarity and avoidance of doubts, this is what the APC leader told Olubadan-Designate High Chief Balogun: “Kabiyesi, all I have come for is to beg you to continue to pray for me, the entire Yoruba race and the country. Now I am out. Out for what, Kabiyesi?  I am out to become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There is a wise saying that if you want to wrestle with the pig, be ready to get dirty and deal with the poo-poo. I am ready to get dirty. No intimidation, no blackmail, no sort of insult will get me angry to the extent that I will say no more, I don’t want again…”

Tinubu, therefore, urged the media not to “allow their mediums and platforms to be deployed in the desperate smear campaigns and campaigns of calumny by politicians.”

TheStar