‘While PDP Battled Military, Tinubu Was Drinking Cognac Abroad’ – Olawepo-Hashim

Former presidential aspirant, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has said President Bola Tinubu was among those drinking cognac abroad when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) fought the military.

Naija News reports that Olawepo-Hashim made this statement during an interview on ‘Sunday Politics’, a programme on Channels Television, while speaking on the resilience and strength of the PDP.

Olawepo-Hashim also recalled events that happened after General Sani Abacha’s death and the imprisonment of many PDP members.

He said, “When we fought the military, President Bola Tinubu was one of the people drinking cognac abroad. He was not here.

“A day General Sani Abacha died, I was with General Ibrahim Babangida, the G-34 and the civil society group that confronted Abacha.

“I was in for Babangida. They were moving tanks. We were civilians negotiating the new Republic. So many founding fathers of the PDP were in prison as of then.”

Meanwhile, Olawepo-Hashim recently said there is readiness for reconciliation between the two factions of the PDP.

Olawepo-Hashim was speaking on the recent judgment of the Appeal Court that dismissed the Taminu Turaki-led faction of the PDP.

Recall that the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which on October 31, 2025, restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the outcome of the 2025 National Convention of the PDP in Ibadan.

Speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’ programme on Wednesday, Olawepo-Hashim said both factions of the party have agreed that the path of contestation at the apex court is not helpful to the party.