Politics

Obasanjo Attacking Buhari Out Of Frustration, Presidency Claims

Published

2 years ago

January 4, 2023

Editor

…Says former President lied to garner southeast votes

…Obasanjo administration dark days for Nigeria

The Presidency, on Monday, said former President Olusegun Obasanjo is verbally attacking the Buhari regime “out of frustration.”

It also described Obasanjo’s attitude to the President as “vengeful”.

“‘Hell’ for Obasanjo is when a President, any President that comes after him refuses to be his own 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,” the Presidency said in a statement signed by Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

The statement is titled Morally squalid Obasanjo attacks leaders out of frustration.

Shehu’s statement comes barely 24 hours after Obasanjo described the Buhari-led government as “hell on earth” for Nigerians.

In his new year message, the former President said under Buhari, “Nigeria of today had been dragged down well below Nigeria of the beginning of my Presidency in June 1999.”

While formally endorsing the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi for the February 25 election, Obasanjo also urged young Nigerians to ride on the next elections and take their destiny into their hands.

But in its reaction, the Presidency argued that Obasanjo lacked the adequate moral authority to berate the Buhari regime on four grounds.

“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 Southeast traditional ruler that he was a liar, in the full presence of the Chiefs and Oracles in his palace.

“Obasanjo lied to the Southeast 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,” the statement read in part.

Second, the Presidency said 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.

It explained that “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 privatization as documented by the Nigerian Senate in 2011.”

Shehu cited several national assets such as Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria which was set up with $3.2bn and sold to a Russian firm, Russal, for $130m; Delta Steel, which was set up in 2005, at a cost of $1.5bn, was sold to Global Infrastructure for $30m.

He also noted that ALSCON got back $120m for the dredging of the Imo River, which was never carried out.

Third, the Shehu said Buhari’s rising profile as the Champion of Democracy at home, in West Africa and Africa-wide, must be unsettling for Obasanjo who “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,” Shehu argued.

It said under the Peoples Democratic Party, lawmaking powers of the Rivers State legislature were transferred to the federal parliament to punish Governor Amaechi for shifting his political alliance.

By contrast, the Presidency said “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.”

Fourth, Shehu said Obasanjo’s aphorism of Nigeria moving from “frying pan to fire” under Buhari should be read as a personal experience for the former President.

“‘Hell for Obasanjo is when a President, any President that comes after him refuses to be his own 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,” said the Presidency.

Related Topics:#Obasanjo #Presidency Buhari Garba Shehu

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Politics

CSO, PDP Bicker Over Fagbemi’s Stand On Osun LG Crisis

Published

19 hours ago

June 27, 2025

Editor

An Osun-based civil society group, The Osun Masterminds, has urged the State Government to respect the opinion of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, regarding the leadership crisis rocking local government areas in the state.

The group said Fagbemi, being the number one law officer of the federation, his opinions on issues relating to law are not just official, but are also binding.

This was disclosed by the Executive Director of the group, Prof. Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli, while speaking with journalists at the monthly media briefing of the organisation held in Osogbo on Friday.

Oyedokun-Alli, who said accused the state government of disregard for, not just the Appeal Court, but also the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, adding that the group has studied several legal positions on the Osun local government disputes and came to the conclusion that the government was swimming against the tide of clear court pronouncements.

“We are to point out, however, that the utter disregard for, not just the Appeal Court, but also the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, by the Osun State Government is a matter of grave concern. Where we understand that the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, is the number one Law Officer of the Federation, we must realise that his opinions are not just official, they are also binding.

“We have studied several legal positions on this matter, especially from highly revered silks who have dissected the pronouncements of the Court, and one thing remains obvious – the Osun State Government is swimming against the tide of clear Court pronouncements.

“The question that begs answers, however, is why the Osun State Government is so unwilling to work with Local Government Chairmen elected under a different political platform. Where we respect the principles of separation of powers, should we not be willing to work together even if the political parties are not the same? Has the APC-led Federal Government refused to work with the Adeleke Government because it is of the PDP?”, Oyedokun-Alli said.

Calling on the stakeholders to prevail on the Osun State Government to end the LG crisis, Oyedokun-Alli, however, urged the residents, regardless of party affiliation, to cohabitate in peace.

Responding to issues raised by the group, the spokesperson for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, Oladele Bamiji, said TOM was a partisan organisation that has consistently supported the All Progressives Congress in the state.

Bamiji further said, “Their so-called ‘civil society’ posturing has long collapsed under the weight of its hypocrisy and shameless servitude to the dictates of APC in Osun and beyond, and it is sad they are dead to their dented image out there.

“TOM has again confirmed to the people of Osun that it is nothing but a busy body propaganda irritant of the APC, issuing monthly rankings, not out of civic concern but to earn its monthly stipend from its political sponsors.

“We find it laughable and frankly disturbing that any group claiming to possess civic literacy would hold binding the personal opinion of a political appointee like the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, over and above the ruling of a competent court of law.”
(PUNCH)

Politics

BREAKING: Confusion As APC Chair, Ganduje Resigns

Published

23 hours ago

June 27, 2025

Editor

National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has resigned from his position, Saturday Vanguard has learned.

Although the exact circumstances surrounding his resignation remain unclear as of press time, a senior party official confirmed the development, stating simply, “Yes, it is true. He has resigned.”

Sources revealed that Ganduje’s personal belongings were earlier moved from his office at the APC national secretariat, further fueling speculation.

The development has thrown the party’s headquarters into confusion, with staff and visitors visibly shocked by the unexpected news.

Politics

‘Peace Has Returned To Rivers’ — Wike, Fubara Speak After Meeting Tinubu

Published

1 day ago

June 27, 2025

Editor

After months of political tension and division in Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, have publicly declared an end to their rift, assuring residents that peace has finally returned.

The truce followed a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Thursday night, where both leaders, along with other stakeholders, reached a resolution to work together for the state’s progress.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, expressed gratitude to God for the breakthrough.

Wike said, “I want to give God the glory that today is the 26th of June 2025, that peace has finally returned to the state. We all agreed to work together with the governor, and the governor also agreed to work together with all of us. We are members of the same political family.”

He acknowledged that disagreements are part of politics but emphasised that the resolution marked a fresh start for the state.

He said, “Just like humans, you have disagreements, and then you also have a time to also settle your disagreements, and that has been finally concluded today, and we have come to report to Mr President that is what we have agreed.

“So for me, everything is over, and I enjoin everybody to work together with everybody. There is no more acrimony; there is nothing to say. We have disagreed; we have all agreed on everything, so thank God. For me, it’s a day we have to thank almighty God.”

Governor Fubara, who also spoke to journalists, said the return of peace is crucial to the state’s development.

He said, “For me, it’s very important that this day has come to be. What we need for the progress of Rivers State is peace, and by the special grace of God this night, with the help of Mr President and the agreement of the leaders of the state, peace has returned to Rivers State.”

Fubara pledged to do everything within his power to sustain the peace, describing it as a step toward lasting stability and governance in the oil-rich state.