The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu has come down hard on former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his ‘special press statement’ in which he said President Muhammadu Buhari had failed and should therefore not seek reelection in 2019.
Shittu accused Obasanjo of being a serial critic who does not see anything good in other administrations but his own in the last 30 years.
He also said the ex-president enjoyed engaging in sensationalism, adding that those who know about Buhari’s achievements would educate Obasanjo about them.
Shittu, who is coordinating Buhari’s reelection bid in the South West, made the assertions while addressing State House correspondents in Aso Rock Vill on Monday.
He said, “Obasanjo as a Nigerian has the right to hold an opinion. If Obasanjo holds an opinion that Mr President has performed less than it should be, those of us who are in the position to know better have a right to also state the other side which perhaps Obasanjo is ignorant of.
“You see, there are some people who enjoy engaging in sensationalism. With due respect to General Obasanjo, if you take his history over the last 30 years, there is hardly any regime, other than his own, that he did not criticise. Sani Abacha didn’t wait for Obasanjo to criticise him before sending him to the gulag.
“So, many Nigerians know that Obasanjo enjoys this type of sensationalisation. In any case, no matter what impression you have of me, do you have a right to tell me not to contest an election? I mean we should talk like people who are educated, who know our left from the right.
“There are procedures for elections. President Buhari is a member of the APC and the APC has its rules and regulations as to how candidates will emerge, if members of the party feel that the president has not performed well enough, it is for them to show that during the primary election. It’s not for anybody to shortchange Nigerians and prevent people from offering themselves for an election.
“In any case, since Obasanjo is no more a member of a party, with due respect, it doesn’t lie in his mouth to tell us who among our party members or leaders to contest or not to contest. I think Nigerians should concede this privilege to we the members of APC to decide the fate of Mr President when the next round of primary comes.”
Leave a Reply