Olusegun Olanrewaju and Cross Udo
The battle over the endorsement of Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, by former Nigerian military head of state and civilian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, took, perhaps, the highest stakes yesterday as the presidency came hard on the former Anambra State governor’s thumbing up procedure.

The presidency, on behalf of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, in the New Year open letter by the spokesman, Garba Shehu, reacted to Obasanjo’s missive in which he formally endorsed Obi ahead of other presidential candidates vying for the February 25 election.

Obasanjo had in a six-page letter, a few days after New Year’s Day, described Obi as his mentee, saying the former Anambra State government has an edge in the February 25 election.

He also told Nigerian youths that the forthcoming election is their turn to take their destiny into their hands by voting for the LP candidate.

Obasanjo also made scathing remarks against the administration of President Buhari, making veiled references to what he considered the shortcomings of the Buhari regime, especially as it pertains to the scourge of insurgency in the country in general and general administration in essence.

He said a situation where people in authority and power assume such positions through foul and despicable means, as well as continue “to espouse and act in ways that only engender conflict or war by subverting legitimacy of power and authority does not augur well for the polity, and as such, the moral foundation of the government and the society will be weakened.

“May God help, save, protect and sustain Nigeria for all Nigerians, for Africa, and the human race. We can only continue to play politics of ethnicity, religion, region, and moneybags at the peril of our country and to self-destruction. We need selfless, courageous, honest, patriotic, in short, outstanding leadership with character and fear of God beyond what we have had in the recent past,” Obasanjo darted in his speech.

But reacting to the former president’s description of Nigerians as living in hell in the Buhari’s government, the presidency yesterday described Obasanjo as a frustrated person, and morally dirty to criticise the present administration.

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Shehu, who is the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Media and Publicity, stated, “As we said sometime back, Mr Obasanjo’s tenure, 1999-2007 represented the dark days of Nigeria’s democracy due to a slew of assaults on the constitution.”

The presidency premised its reaction on four grounds, saying that “former President Obasanjo is so well-known to all that no one needs to describe who he is.

“But, four things we will like to say, One is that he will not stop attacking President Muhammadu Buhari because the former President won’t stop being jealous of anyone who beats him to a new record in the nation’s development process.

“President Buhari is ahead of Chief Obasanjo in all fields of national development, and to do that, is a cardinal sin to Obasanjo whose hallucinations tell him that he is the best to lead Nigeria, and there will never be another one better than him.”

The statement added, “President Buhari just completed the world-class edifice that is the Second Niger Bridge after three decades of failed promises. It is now awaiting commissioning.

“Obasanjo laid the sod for the bridge in his first term as elected president, and work never started. When he sought re-election for his second term in office, he returned to the site to turn the sod for the bridge the second time.

“When the Obi of Onitsha, forthright and scholarly, reminded him that he had done this in the past, Obasanjo told the foremost South-East traditional ruler that he was a liar, in the full presence of the chiefs, and oracles in his palace.

“Obasanjo lied to the South-East to get their votes. President Buhari didn’t get their votes, but built the bridge because he believed it is the right thing to do.”

Buhari’s statement also added that the former president was frustrated because of the global recognition and accolades President Buhari is having, especially his insistence that the nation’s constitution should be respected as regards tenure of government.

“Two, President Buhari had been bagging awards and encomiums for trying to do that which the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says a leader should do; serve one, or a maximum of two terms and go.

“President Buhari has been stating and restating that he will supervise a better election than the one that brought him to the office and to leave as and when due.

“Having tried tenure elongation and failed, Obasanjo’s fictitious mind must be telling him that he is the one under attack.

But he is not on President Buhari’s radar because experience has shown, especially lately in West Africa where there have been at least three successful coups and many other failed attempts, that third term or tenure elongation is a recipe for political instability.

“Furthermore, the totality of African leaders appointed President Buhari the Anti-Corruption Champion of the continent.

“You can’t be an anti-corruption champion if “you meddled and bent the rules,” carrying the putrid responsibility of what happened to national assets in the name of privatisation as documented by the Nigerian Senate in 2011.”

Giving further insight, the presidential statement referred to the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), which was set up with $3.2bn, and was sold to a Russian firm, Russal, for a paltry $130 million. Delta Steel Company, which was set up for $1.5bn, was sold to Global Infrastructure for just $30m.

“ALSCON got back $120m for the dredging of the Imo River, which was never carried out.”

Continuing, it said, “Three, which is linked to the one above is the growing profile of President Buhari as the Champion of Democracy not only at home and in the West African sub-region but the African continent as a whole.”

Gunning the ex-president further, the statement said, “As president, Obasanjo destabilised internal democracy by orchestrating impeachment after impeachment of governors who were not compliant with his highly imperial administration.

“As we said sometime back, Mr. Obasanjo’s tenure, 1999-2007, represented the dark days of Nigeria’s democracy due to a slew of assaults on the constitution.

“The former president deployed federal machinery to remove governors Joshua Dariye, Rashidi Ladoja, Peter Obi, Chris Ngige, and Ayo Fayose from office. They were the then governors of Plateau, Oyo, Anambra, Anambra, and Ekiti, respectively, unjustly removed, using the police and secret service under his control.

“Under him, a five-man legislature met at 6:00 am and “impeached” Governor Dariye in Plateau; 18 members out of 32 removed Governor Ladoja of Oyo from office; in Anambra, APGA’s Governor Obi was equally impeached at 5am by members who did not meet the two-thirds required by the constitution.

“Under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), lawmaking powers of the Rivers State legislature were transferred to the federal parliament to punish Governor Amaechi for shifting his political alliance.

“Moreover, he damned the Supreme Court and unlawfully held back Lagos State revenues due from federal sources on account of his pettiness against Governor Bola Tinubu.

“On the other hand, in Washington a few weeks ago, US president Joe Biden at a meeting with African Heads of State and Government, described President Buhari as a champion of democracy and a role model for the leaders of African states. Obasanjo has become even more jealous by adopting a vengeful attitude.”

The president further said, “Four, to say that “frying pan to fire” is the situation in Nigeria at this time should be read to mean a personal experience to him and we know what that means.

“Hell” for Obasanjo is when a President, any President that comes after him refuses to be his puppet, to do as he wishes on all matters and at all times. He then keeps attacking out of frustration.

“Obasanjo’s vengeful attitude towards President Buhari is the height of selfishness and little short of moral squalor.”

 

*More fireworks over Obi’s endorsement

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have countered the views of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, following his endorsement of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the forthcoming election.

A member of the Strategic Communications Directorate of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Anthony Ehilebo; and a spokesman for the Tinubu/Shettima PCC, Kehinde Bamgbetan criticised the endorsement yesterday when they appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

“I have a very strong opposition to anybody who would seem to want to control the president of Nigeria either by a thread or a needle or by pulling his ears,” Ehilebo said. “We want an independent president. We want a president that can take decisions and own his time in government.

“It reminds us of what happened before 2015 when he also wrote a letter to instigate Nigerians to change Jonathan because he felt he was no longer in control of Jonathan.”

 

*Wike mocks Atiku over Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi

Apart from the knocks delivered by the Bola Tinubu camp for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), more knocks came the way of Obasanjo for his venom in the Buhari administration and endorsement of Obi.

The most potent came from Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, who is causing a stir in the presidential race of the Atiku camp by leading a ‘movement in a five-governor-strong G5 opposed to the PDP presidential race.

Wike, in a statement by an aide, Kelvin Ebiri, ridiculed Atiku over Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi, in particular.

The Rivers state governor diverted a bit by taking a swipe against those accusing him and Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, of frustrating the micro-zoning of the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the South-East, which could have likely favoured a south-easterner, Obi.

A statement by the governor’s Special Assistant (Media), Kelvin Ebiri, said Wike had always believed and supported concerted efforts towards ensuring that the presidency was zoned to the south.

Speaking at Itu Bridge Head, the venue of the flag-off of the Akpabu-Odido Road in Emohua Local Government Area, Wike said, “I was one of those who led the campaign that the party’s chairmanship should go to the North because I believed the presidency should go to the South.”

His further words: “I attended meetings of southern governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and other parties from Delta to Lagos to Enugu states, where we agreed that the presidency should come to the south.”

Wike insisted that while the southern cross-party consultations were going on, there were people in the PDP bent on frustrating the eventual zoning of the party’s presidential ticket to the south.

Such people, he maintained, cannot now turn around to cast the blame on him and Governor Ortom to hide their scheme, “thinking they could deceive Nigerians”.

The governor added, “I woke up this morning and read where they said how Wike and Ortom frustrated PDP’s micro-zoning of the presidential ticket to the South-East. That was what the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku said.

“(But) I keep on saying; they’ll be contradicting themselves, telling lies up and down, thinking that Nigerians don’t know. How can they say that I influenced Ortom, told him to allow and throw the ticket open?”

According to him, “Nigerians know those who are opposed to the zoning of the party’s chairmanship first. And when the zoning committee was set up, this time, Atiku had gone to buy a form to frustrate the recommendation of the zoning committee.

“So that when they have bought form, they could say, oh, there is no need for zoning, will you tell people to withdraw?”

Wike also said, “It is rather noteworthy that their gimmick is now haunting them because they were unfair to Nigerians.”

He stressed, “Yes, you don’t like Ortom, no problems. I know my own, you don’t like me, no problems. But I, my state gave you the highest support in 2019, both with logistics and by votes. You can’t deceive every Nigerian again. What I have stood for are equity, fairness, and justice.

“So, saying that I and Ortom frustrated PDP micro-zoning to the South-East is neither here nor there. They know that they don’t want the presidency to come to the South.”

The Rivers State governor urged Atiku to leave him out of the attendant challenges he is facing in the party. He, however, stated that a bad product is always difficult to sell, otherwise, former president Olusegun Obasanjo would have recommended Atiku to Nigerians, having worked together with him.