Ex-All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande has said the feats achieved by the party in the 2015 polls would have been difficult or impossible without ex-Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Akande, in his autobiography, ‘My Participations’, said Tinubu’s contributions to the formation of the party, his business acumen, his courage in politics, his readiness to forgive those who betrayed him and his steadfastness to his friends were among the reasons President Muhammadu Buhari admired Tinubu and considered making him his running mate in 2015.

He added that Buhari and Tinubu became so close towards the 2015 election that anytime the president was in Lagos he would have his breakfast, lunch or dinner in Tinubu’s Bourdillon Street, Ikoyi home.

Akande said Buhari felt comfortable in Tinubu’s home even when the ex-Lagos governor was away.

“This became more so after he escaped an assassination attempt in Kaduna. ‘I prefer to eat where I will not be poisoned,’ he said. It appeared they trusted each other,” Akande wrote.

He added that Buhari offered Tinubu the running mate slot in 2014 even when he had not secured the party’s ticket. He explained that this was done in the presence of Governor Aminu Bello Masari.

“So, when Buhari tabled the matter, I cautioned them that this must not get out beyond the four of us. ‘How could he be talking of a running mate when he had not secured the ticket?’ I mused.