AU Chief, Amb Yara, Explains Tinubu’s Guinean Citizenship

The African Union (AU) Ambassador for Agenda 2063, Ousmane Yara, has revealed how Nigeria’s President-elect, Bola Tinubu, acquired his Guinean citizenship.

After a viral video showing President-elect, Bola Tinubu and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in an aircraft belonging to the Guinean government surfaced, Yara revealed the video was shot years ago.

Speaking to Daily Sun, he said the viral video was shot sometime in 2016 when Tinubu visited Guinea as guest of then President Conde during the country’s independence anniversary celebration and it was Tinubu’s second time visiting Guinea.

According to Yara, Tinubu’s first visit to Guinea was in 2015 after he hosted former President Conde in Lagos earlier. He said him, Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu, who was not governor then, were travelling in the helicopter from Guinean capital to Mamu, in the Fula region of the country, to attend independence anniversary celebration, as, according to him, then President Conde used to move the state function related to the anniversary from region to region every year, when he was in power.

“Through one of Tinubu’s aides at that time, who is now a minister in the government of Nigeria, I facilitated a meeting between President Conde and Tinubu. President Conde was going for reelection, for the second term, in office then in 2015. He came to Nigeria to see Tinubu, who organised a dinner in his honour. At the dinner, Tinubu invited many Nigerian businessmen and others.

“President Conde then invited Tinubu to Guinea about one month to the election for his second term. Tinubu honoured the invitation and came with a team of economic experts and businessmen, who took time to discuss with Guinean government officials how the country could better harness its resources for economic prosperity and development.

“Tinubu spent only one day and travelled to London from there, but left the team he came with to continue engagement with Guinean officials on how to transform Guinea. The team and Guinean government officials worked for three days, and came up with an economic roadmap.”

Speaking on Tinubu’s alleged Guinean citizenship, he said it was in order to show appreciation to Tinubu that former President Conde gave him a “Special Envoy” status.

The AU Ambassador said that governments extend honorary citizenship to important people who may not be their citizens as a mark of recognition of their contributions to socio-economic and political developments in the countries, which does not make such persons citizens of the countries.