Obasanjo confused – Presidency

By Ismaila Chafe

The Presidency has described former President Olusegun Obasanjo as confused following his recent inconsistent political manoeuvring.

The recent utterances of Obasanjo are not worthy of attention, presidential Spokesperson, Garba Shehu, said in Abuja on Wednesday.

Shehu said: “Whoever “Obasanjo chooses to support at the 2019 elections is irrelevant.’’

He noted that the former president had publicly changed his mind on the matter so many times over the past few months alone.

He said: “Former president Obasanjo denounces one person today and supports that same person the next day.

“When it pleases him, he brings God into the matter and uses that as his excuse for whatever position he has chosen.’’

Shehu added that he was not surprised that newspapers reported Obasanjo expressing neutrality at a weekend forum, only for the former president to express a completely different stance after a day or two.

“We have learnt not to take his utterances seriously anymore.

“We know that the slightest wind can make him change his mind again.

“After all, this is the same man who publicly tore his party registration card barely four years ago, and he now claims to be backing the same party,’’ Shehu added.

The Federal Government had on Monday said though it was the constitutional right of Obasanjo to support a candidate for an election, his endorsement does not guarantee victory.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who spoke on behalf of the government said Obasanjo’s endorsed presidential election, Atiku Abubakar “will be defeated roundly and comprehensively’’.

“With due respect to former President Obasanjo, it is his constitutional right to support any candidate of his choice and we urge him to go out and campaign vigorously for any candidate he wants to support.

“He has not hidden his preference for the PDP candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and we wish him very best of luck.

“However, I want to assure you that his candidate will be defeated roundly and comprehensively. It is not about endorsement, endorsement does not win election,’’ he said.

The minister also responded to a statement credited to the former President that, “only a fool will sit on the fence when his or her country is being destroyed with incompetence, corruption lack of focus, insecurity nepotism and brazen impunity’’.

Mohammed said he held Obasanjo in high esteem and probably he was not properly briefed on the development in the country to have made such conclusions. “The facts are all there that this government has done more than any other government in three and half years”.

Mohammed said he held Obasanjo in high esteem and probably he was not properly briefed on the development in the country to have made such conclusions,.

“The facts are all there that this government has done more than any other governments in three and half years.