Former Deputy National Chair (South) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has opened up about why he remained in Nigeria after vowing to leave if President Bola Tinubu won the 2023 election.
Speaking in a recent interview with Arise TV, George disclosed that Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, played a pivotal role in persuading him to stay.
In January 2022, after Tinubu declared his intention to run for president, George had expressed strong opposition, stating he would leave the country if Tinubu won. “I will move away from Nigeria…
This is not the kind of person we can hand over this massive country to manage,” George had said, predicting that Tinubu’s leadership would damage Nigeria’s international reputation.
However, George revealed that after Tinubu’s election win, Gbajabiamila, acting on behalf of the president, reached out to him with an apology and a plea to stay calm.
“Tinubu sent his Chief of Staff, who is my little brother from Lagos state, Femi Gbajabiamila, to appeal to me,” George said, adding that the outreach was an acknowledgment of past grievances.
This gesture, George hinted, was a significant reason why he chose to remain in the country despite his earlier vow to leave.