Politics

Anti-Buhari Letter: Presidency Lambasts Obasanjo, Says Ex-president Govt Corrupt

Published

3 years ago

January 4, 2023

The Presidency on Monday slammed former President Olusegun Obasanjo for describing the seven years of President Muhammadu Buhari in office as horrible and hell on earth for Nigerians.

It described Obasanjo’s government as corrupt, adding that the former leader was morally bankrupt.

The Presidency, which listed Obasanjo’s sins in office, also accused him of lying to the South-East to garner votes during his tenure between 1999 and 2007.

The elder statesman stirred the hornet’s nest on Sunday with his criticism of the Buhari regime, noting that the nation was currently faced with pervasive and mind-numbing insecurity, rudderless leadership, mismanagement of diversity and pervasive corruption and bad economic policies, which he said had resulted in extremes of poverty and massive unemployment and galloping inflation.

Obasanjo’s endorsement of the Labour Party standard bearer, Peter Obi, in a lengthy New Year message also provoked the All Progressives Congress, Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance and African Action Alliance, which dismissed his support for Obi as of little political value.

But responding to the blistering attacks on Buhari in a statement on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Garba Shehu said the Owu chief “won’t stop being jealous of anyone who beats him to a new record in the nation’s development process,’’ noting that Buhari is ahead of Obasanjo in all fields of national development.

This, he said, is a cardinal sin to the ex-president.

In the statement titled, ‘Morally squalid Obasanjo attacks leaders out of frustration,’ Shehu said, “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 ever to lead Nigeria and there will never be another one better than him.

“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.’’

The presidential aide said the former President failed to build the Second Niger Bridge despite turning the sod twice.

“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,’’ Garba declared.

Two terms

The SSA further bragged that his principal had bagged several awards and encomiums for not attempting to go beyond the maximum two terms in office as stipulated by the Constitution.

He said, “President Buhari has been stating and restating that he will supervise a better election than the one that brought him to 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.’’

Under the Obasanjo administration, the Presidency alleged that the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria and Delta Steel were undervalued and sold well below their market prices.

“As an insight, the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria, which was set up with $3.2bn, was sold to a Russian firm, Russal, for a paltry $130m. Delta Steel, which was set up in 2005, at a cost of $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,’’ the statement added.

Touting Buhari’s profile as ‘the Champion of Democracy’ not only in Nigeria but across the African continent, the Presidency castigated Obasanjo for allegedly destabilising internal democracy “by orchestrating impeachment after impeachment of governors who were not compliant with his highly imperial administration.’’

It 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 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 states, respectively, unjustly removed using the police and secret service under his control.

“Under him, a five-man legislature met at 6 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 5:00 a.m. by members who did not meet the two-thirds required by the constitution.

“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, the US President Joe Biden at a meeting with African Heads of States and Government, described President Buhari as a champion of democracy and role model for the leaders of African states. Clearly, Obasanjo has become even more jealous by adopting a vengeful attitude.’’

Also unsparing in his attacks on the ex-president for endorsing the LP presidential candidate, the Spokesman of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Daniel Bwala accused him of seeking ‘a third term’ by proxy.

In a statement on Monday, Bwala said, “Nigerians would decide, and this they would do, not on the basis of a letter by a man seeking a third term by proxy, but by their own assessment of who amongst the candidates presents the case they believe warrant their votes.’’

Domineering character

According to him, other former presidents were minding their businesses whilst playing the role of fathers of the nation, peace-builders, adding that “none is so domineering, controlling and meddling with the affairs of the nation like Obasanjo.’’

He berated the ex-military head of state for writing scathing letters to all his predecessors, from ex-president Goodluck Jonathan to Buhari.

“When was the last time we saw him visiting victims of a natural disaster? Or playing the role needed of a father of the nation that he so passionately claims,’’ Bwala queried.

Joining the attacks on the Octogenarian, the Adviser, Media, Communications and Public Affairs of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, claimed the ex-president has no moral compass to lecture any citizen on leadership “with his notorious antecedents in Nigeria’s political history.’’

He said Obasanjo might be plotting for an interim government, adding that the ex-president was a hypocrite.

While describing the former head of state’s open endorsement as preposterous, Alake also blamed him for the abolition of history from the school curriculum.

He said, “It is laughable that Obasanjo has the temerity to deem himself qualified to lecture Nigerians on who to elect as a leader. Throughout his political trajectory in public life, he has unfailingly demonstrated gross incompetence in this regard.

“In 1979, his military regime was designed to produce the weakest leadership in a political terrain that had such proven leadership talents as Adamu Ciroma, Aminu Kano, Maitama Sule, Waziri Ibrahim, Nnamdi Azikiwe or Obafemi Awolowo, among others.

“In 2007, after his two-term tenure and the failure of his third term agenda, he influenced the emergence of two PDP successors who failed partly because of the weak institutional foundation he had laid and partly because of their own limitations.

“In endorsing Obi, Obasanjo resorted to verbose and nebulous generalities without telling Nigerians in concrete terms what were his preferred candidate’s track record of performance as governor in Anambra state.”

In the statement entitled, ‘My Appeal To All Nigerians, Particularly Young Nigerians,’ the former Lagos State commissioner for information and strategy berated Obasanjo for plumbing what he called ‘new depth in hubris and hypocrisy never seen in all his career as ‘political busybody.’

The APC PCC media adviser said the former president sees Nigeria as a movie where only he is the all-conquering hero while others are doomed villains.

Efforts to get the response of Obasanjo’s media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, did not succeed as he neither picked calls to his phone nor responded to an SM S sent to him.

However, rising to the defence of the ex-General, the Spokesman for the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, said he found the barrage of attacks from the APC and PDP ridiculous because the two parties had been chasing Obasanjo for endorsement in the last three months.

He said, “If Obasanjo has no electoral value, why are they all running after him? Why did ‘Emi lo kan’ and Atiku, who he has always been accused of corruption, visit him?

“The truth is that Obasanjo appeals a lot to the largest demography in our electoral system, which is the Nigerian youth. The former president also said it clearly that the letter he wrote to the Nigerian people was specifically directed to the youth, saying it is their time now to decide. He wanted them to take the bull by the horn and fight for their survival as a people.

“That’s why they are all jittery. For the first time, that particular demography is now coming into recognition and as a determinant factor in who becomes the president of Nigeria.

“Obasanjo also used the opportunity to give a pass mark to Obi using the narrative of track record, vision, character and physical attributes that none of them, except Obi, has. One is a tax collector; the other has stolen Nigeria’s properties for himself and his family.”

Tanko’s view was also shared by the National Secretary of the Labour Party, Umar Farouk, who described the ex-president as an international figure who is respected globally.

According to him, Obasanjo has never hidden his disgust for the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, and his counterpart in the PDP, Atiku Abubakar.

He added, “Expectedly, President Obasanjo is someone who is known to be an advocate of peace and a nation-builder. He has indeed proven to the world and the international community that our presidential candidate is one of the best.

Obasanjo’s recommendation

“Therefore, I think Obasanjo’s endorsement is a step in the right direction. Beyond that, the castigation of his former vice president, that he is not trustworthy, indicated that Nigerians should follow Obasanjo’s recommendation by supporting our candidate.

“It has been proven that none of these people contesting against Obi can really deliver Nigeria. Is it Tinubu or Atiku? We have seen what they can do.’’

“Tinubu is a leader of APC and we know 70 per cent of Buhari’s cabinet is from Tinubu. What has he done for the betterment of Nigerians? Atiku as VP has been virtually in charge of Obasanjo’s administration and sales of Nigerian assets for eight years. That’s the only thing he can talk about after all these fraudulent sales of the country’s assets. But Nigerians know better.’’

Commending the ex-president, the Movement for Election of Nigeria President of Igbo Extraction, argued that his position showed that he stood on the path of justice, fairness and equity as far as the 2023 presidential election is concerned, noting that Obi remains the best candidate for the presidency.

The group in a statement signed by its Chairman and National Convener, Mr Vincent Ezekwueme and Prof. Justice Chidi, respectively, called on the youths to vote massively for Obi.
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Related Topics:#Obasanjo #Presidency Buhari

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Politics

90% Of Nigeria’s Elections Since Independence Rigged — Ex-lawmaker

Published

2 hours ago

September 28, 2025

Editor

A lawyer and former member of the National Assembly, Senator Ikechukwu Obiorah, has said that over ninety per cent of all elections so far held in Nigeria, from independence to date, have been brazenly rigged or perverted, thus causing the mass poverty and underdevelopment being experienced in the country.

Senator Obiorah, who represented Anambra South Senatorial District between 2007 and 2011 in the National Assembly, blamed the non-existence of honest, transparent, free and fair elections in Nigeria for the mass poverty and gross underdevelopment in the nation presently.

The lawyer and author stated this in his treatise on “The Philosophy of Elections and Nigeria’s Fake Democracy”, made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.

Worried by this development, the erstwhile federal lawmaker has proposed a constitutional amendment that will ensure the power to appoint electoral bodies – Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) – is taken away from both the President and Governors and vested in a neutral body which would set in motion processes to lift Nigeria out of poverty.

He stated that a proposed bill to that effect had already been sent to both the Senate and the House of Representatives for prompt legislative action.

He pointed out that had the people been allowed to exercise the power to freely elect their leaders since 1960, Nigeria would by now be a fully developed nation by first-world standards and in all ramifications.

According to him, “Since independence, 90 per cent of all elections – Parliamentary, Presidential, National Assembly, Governorship, House of Assembly, Local Government Council elections – have been brazenly stolen or rigged or perverted or altogether thwarted or nullified.

“Nigerians have never really and voluntarily chosen their leaders, nor have Nigerians ever been governed with their proper consent and participation. The absence of honest elections makes ours a fake democracy, period. In Nigeria, the simple but painful cause of stealing and rigging of elections is that those vested with power to appoint the electoral bodies and personnel were themselves or their political parties or their preferred candidates, contestants in the same elections. It is just like making a person a judge in his own case.

“Right from independence, the then Prime Minister, and later the President, was always cloaked with the power to appoint the commissioners and senior officers of the electoral bodies responsible for the conduct of all elections in Nigeria.

“However, by virtue of the 1999 Constitution, the power of appointing the state electoral bodies responsible for conducting local government elections was transferred to the State Governors. Consequently, the world has been witnessing the Soviet Union-style results declared from Nigeria’s local government elections, where the Governor’s political party, in most cases, scores a 100 per cent victory.

“The world has also been hearing loud cries and protestations against rigging and seeing the avalanche of court cases that attend all other elections in Nigeria for which the President appoints the electoral bodies and officers,” he noted.

He added that “it is very important to make the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic transmission of results via INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) legally mandatory in the conduct of Nigerian elections.”

Senator Obiorah pointed out that “these systems cannot solve the problem of election rigging without the electoral bodies’ neutrality and integrity because BVAS and IReV are vulnerable to manipulation.”

As a way out of this problem, Senator Obiorah is proposing that the power for the appointment of electoral bodies be taken away from both the Governors and the President and vested in a neutral body which would set in motion processes to lift Nigeria out of poverty.

According to him, “I do, most humbly, propose a constitutional amendment to provide for the establishment of a new, truly and literally Independent National Electoral Commission (new INEC), charged with the responsibility of conducting all elections for all elected offices in the three tiers of government – the Federal, State and Local Government.

“I do, also, propose that the new INEC be composed and constituted by thirteen commissioners, six of whom would be elected by the underlisted six Nigerian labour and professional organisations, and six commissioners nominated by the United Nations, and one commissioner-observer nominated by Transparency International, totalling thirteen commissioners.

“The new INEC would have the power to elect and remove its Chairman and hire and fire all staff, including the Chief Executive Officer.

“The election of six commissioners by the underlisted Nigerian labour and professional organisations is arranged in a corresponding alphabetical order as follows:

READ ALS:

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics would elect one commissioner out of its members from the North Central geopolitical zone;

The Academic Staff Union of Universities would elect one commissioner out of its members from the North East geopolitical zone;

The Institute of Chartered Accountants would elect one commissioner out of its members from the North West geopolitical zone;

The Nigerian Bar Association would elect one commissioner out of its members from the South East geopolitical zone;

The Nigerian Medical Association would elect one commissioner out of its members from the South South geopolitical zone;

The Nigerian Union of Journalists would elect one commissioner out of its members from the South West geopolitical zone.

He clarified that nominations from the United Nations and Transparency International would definitely not violate Nigeria’s sovereignty, because those nominations would not be imposed by any sort of force; rather, it is Nigeria as a sovereign nation that would voluntarily request these nominations.

He stated further that the UN and Transparency International would be positively disposed to acceding to Nigeria’s request because, like other development institutions, they rightly regard stealing or rigging of elections as the worst and most destructive kind of all corrupt practices. He noted that the UN, having directly organised the establishment, manning and management of some anti-corruption programmes and institutions in various countries such as Guatemala and El Salvador, would be pleased to participate in such a liberating effort in Nigeria.

Senator Obiorah also recalled that the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, not long ago, dispatched a letter to the United Nations requesting the UN’s establishment and management of an International Commission against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras, for which a memorandum of understanding has been signed by both parties in furtherance of that cooperation.

He added that the United Nations and Transparency International would not nominate any Nigerian citizen or any person indigenous to Nigeria, saying that “It would be the job of the President to receive and collate the names and curriculum vitae of the nominees for transmission to the Senate and House of Representatives for confirmation.

According to him, “No nominee or nominee-elect would be rejected or impeached by the National Assembly except by concurrent resolutions supported by at least two-thirds majority of all Senators and Honourable Members of the House of Representatives, respectively, voting individually in person by a secret ballot and televised in real time. Voice vote for this exercise would be prohibited.

“The tenure of office of a commissioner would not exceed four years. It must be made clear that the establishment of the new INEC would not be a setback in the strides for devolution of powers to the States.”

Politics

Probe Natasha’s Allegations Against Akpabio, Afenifere Urges FG

Published

2 days ago

September 26, 2025

Editor

The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has urged the Federal Government to investigate sexual harassment allegations levelled by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The call followed the Senate’s decision to lift Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension.

This, Afenifere said should not overshadow the need to establish the truth of her claims.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Afenifere’s National Organising Secretary, Kole Omololu, said the senator’s recall reflected commitment to the rule of law.

“We commend the Senate President, His Excellency Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Senate leadership for taking a decision that further reinforces the country’s rule of law,” Omololu said.

The group, however, insisted that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations must not be ignored.

“For over six months, where are the facts and evidence of her grave allegations?” Afenifere asked.

It called on the “Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS) and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to carry out a full investigation into the matter.”

Afenifere also recalled Akpoti-Uduaghan’s past false sexual harassment claims against former presidential aide Reno Omokri, which ended in an out-of-court settlement.

“Does this not suggest that, without proof, her allegations against Akpabio are suspicious?” Omololu asked.

The group further criticised Akpoti-Uduaghan for taking her claims to international media, including BBC, CNN, Sky News and Deutsche Welle, saying the move portrayed Nigeria negatively abroad.

It also queried her participation in a session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in New York.

“If Natasha truly participated in the IPU meeting without due nomination, then it simply revealed her compromise or manipulation of our public institutions for pecuniary ends,” the group said.

In March 2025, Natasha was suspended for six months after a row in plenary and her petition accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.

She claimed the incident happened in December 2023, but the Senate’s Ethics Committee dismissed her petition on procedural grounds. Despite a court order halting disciplinary action, the Senate went ahead with her suspension, which also froze her pay and barred her from official duties.

Akpoti-Uduaghan challenged the suspension in court, insisting it was tied to her allegations. While the Senate said it acted over misconduct, the case attracted global attention after she granted interviews to international media. The matter remains unsettled, with Afenifere now urging federal authorities to investigate her claims.

Meanwhile, Natasha formally resumed her duties at the National Assembly on October 7, 2025, after her six-month suspension ended – and immediately claimed that Akpabio is a dictator.

And almost immediately, Akpabio’s media aide Kenny Okolugbo debunked the claim.

Politics

2027: Drama As Atiku Disowns Media Consultant Over Statement On Yoruba

Published

3 days ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has denied any association with a media consultant named Kola Johnson.

This is as he also rejected statements released by the media consultant on Wednesday that he would protect Yoruba interests if elected as president in 2027.

Atiku, in a statement issued on Thursday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, alleged that “faceless mercenaries” are behind the false press statement just to discredit him.

He also dismissed the claim as “false and offensive,” describing it as part of a calculated propaganda project to ridicule him in the media.

The statement specifically mentioned one Kola Johnson, described as a “self-styled media consultant,” who allegedly released a publication claiming that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group.

The statement read, “Our findings point directly to the Presidency, which, in its desperation to smear opposition leaders, has resorted to hiring faceless mercenaries to fabricate fake stories and circulate unauthorised statements on Atiku.

“Particularly offensive is the false claim attributed to this individual that an Atiku administration would be dominated by a single ethnic group. This disinformation is part of a calculated propaganda project designed to ridicule Atiku in the media.

“Let it be clear: Atiku Abubakar has never engaged one Kola Johnson as a media consultant, aide, or associate. Any statement issued in that name is fake and should be disregarded. We urge media houses that have published such falsehoods to immediately retract them.”

The statement also clarified that authentic information on the former Vice President is only released through his Media Adviser or Special Assistant on Public Communications.

“Editors and media gatekeepers are strongly advised to verify with the Atiku Media Office before publication,” the statement added.

It was widely reported on Wednesday that Atiku has assured people of the South-West geo-political zone that their interest would remain central to his policy direction if elected President in 2027, noting that his long-standing marital and cultural ties to the region make him family.

The report quoted a statement by one, Kola Johnson, as saying that the former Vice President spoke during an engagement with select stakeholders.

The report said Atiku described the people of the South-West as one of the finest species of the human race, noting that his marriage to a Yoruba woman in the 1970s forged a permanent bond between him and the Yorubas.

He dismissed fears of Hausa/Fulani domination under his leadership as unfounded, insisting that the Yoruba were his larger extended family and in-laws.

The former vice president added that his Yoruba connections extend beyond family, as some of his closest friends and associates were from the region.

“In case you don’t know or have forgotten, I was married to my first wife, Titi, a Yoruba woman, in the 70s, and we have four Yoruba children together. She is now over 75 years old, and we are still together.

“Besides, the Yoruba are so sophisticated and highly educated that you can only toy with them at your peril,” Atiku stated. “My Ijesha-born Yoruba wife is more than a wife to me. Aptly put, she is my Jewel of Inestimable value and anybody who knows about my family, even from a distance, can easily tell you this.”