Former Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, has described his reference to Vice President Yemi Osinbaj as ice Cream Seller” and Senate President, Ahmad Lawan as “tomato dealer” as political jibes and therefore apologized to the two personalities.
In a series of tweets today, June 5, the former governor stressed that his remarks were never meant to insult Osinbajo or Lawan as perceived in many quarters, saying: “I hereby tender my unreserved apologies to the Vice President and the President of the Senate for the unintended pains my jibes might have caused them and their families and supporters.”
He wrote: “My interview on Channels TV was taken out of context. When I appeared on Channels TV last Friday amidst the tension rippling through our political arena, it was to underline the promise of Tinubu’s presidential bid held for those yet to establish the certainty of the hurdle ahead of the convention.
“I never set out to subject them to ridicule but, rather, to stir up interest in the contrasting virtues of the cast of aspirants putting up a fight against my preferred aspirant, one most favoured and advantaged to guarantee APC’s victory in the forthcoming presidential election,” he said.
“The interpretations of my remarks on @ProfOsinbajo and @SPNigeria, Senator Lawan are, thus, being done literally and overblown.
“My words weren’t woven to portray them as unworthy aspirants, but merely to qualify them as non-threatening contenders.
“I, however, take full responsibility for my utterances and wish to appeal to our teeming supporters to neither take my words out of their metaphoric contexts nor interpret them as a measure and declaration of hostility towards my dear friends and allies.”
Ex governor Shettima, a strong ally of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, described Osinbajo as a decent man who should be selling popcorn and ice cream.
Speaking on Channels Television programme ‘Politics Today’ on Friday, Shettima had said: “Osinbajo is a good man; he’s a nice man. But nice men do not make good leaders, because nice men tend to be nasty. Nice men should be selling popcorn, ice cream.”
On Lawan, he said that the facts are clear that the Senate President, who cuts the image of a tomato trader, lacks capacity to confront the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
“Go to Ohafia or Arochukwu and ask for Ahmad Lawan, the first thing that will come to their mind is that of a tomato dealer who is bringing tomatoes from Maiduguri. Go to any part of the south. Does the brand name sell?”
