Tobias Sylvester
Tundun Abiola, daughter of the late MKO Abiola, has slammed her sister, Hafsat Abiola-Costello for using their father’s name to promote the presidential bid of Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.
MKO Abiola Compared To Yahaya Bello
Abiola-Costello, who is the Director-General of Yahaya Bello’s presidential campaign, had likened the governor’s Hope23 campaign slogan to Hope93 slogan, which her late father used during the 1993 presidential election campaign.
During an interview on Arise TV on Sunday, Abiola-Costello explained why she accepted to head Bello’s campaign, stating that the governor’s characters align with those of her father.
She had said that the late MKO believed in a United Nigeria, just like Bello, noting that he also treated everyone around him with respect regardless of their social standing.
Abiola-Costello said, “These are the same qualities I have seen in Governor Bello. He dared to contest, not minding that he was from a minority tribe in Kogi and won, and he has come out again. My father did the same, when it was believed that a Yoruba man could not be President.”
Tundun Lambast Abiola-Costello
The lawyer and TV presenter expressed shock over the comment of her half-sister, asking her to leave their father out of the issue and concentrate on selling the manifestos of her principal.
Tundun, who stated this while co-anchoring Morning Show, a programme on ARISE TV, said Abiola-Costello does not have the right to “exploit” their father’s name for Bello’s benefit.
She said, “I have come to expect certain things from that individual, but just because it is not surprising, does not mean it was not staggeringly inappropriate.
“I am referring to my half-sister, Hafsat, who is the DG of Yahaya Bello’s campaign, and her comparison to my dad. There were a lot of political players in his team, and not one of them decided to throw their father under the bus for the sake of their principal.
“Come out and talk about your principal, his antecedents and stands for the future of Nigeria and leave daddy out of this. It is not her right, because it is not her name. It is our name. It is the name of future Abiolas yet unborn who should be proud of the legacy.
“My father was tortured because according to the United Nations, it sees solitary confinement as torture. He was tortured and then, he was murdered and has left his legacy only for it to be abused in this fashion.
“And I did say that I was quite consistent. We had another gentleman on the show talking about another person he was campaigning for, and using my dad to score points and I was apoplectic.
“Everybody should just leave his name out of this. It is especially disgusting, the false equivalence, the cynical expatiation of a genuine struggle. It is nauseating,” Tundun added.
Tundun is the daughter of Mrs Bisi Abiola, MKO Abiola’s third wife, while Hafsat is the daughter of Abiola’s second wife, Kudirat, who was murdered during the June 12 struggle.
KanyiDaily recalls that Yahaya Bello had appointed Abiola-Costello as the DG of his presidential campaign, while declaring his intention to run for president in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
