FORMER Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has endorsed the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi for presidency in 2023.
Obasanjo disclosed his position on the 2023 presidential election in his New Year Message to Nigerians on Sunday, January 1.
The former President described the past seven and a half years under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government as stressful and eventful.
Urging Nigerians to be cautious while electing a new leader Obasanjo stated that his choice of a preferred candidate was based on previous relationships with the major contestants for the 2023 presidential election.
“We need selfless, courageous, honest, patriotic, in short, outstanding leadership with character and fear of God beyond what we have had in recent past.
“None of the contestants is a saint but when one compares their character, antecedent, their understanding, knowledge, discipline and vitality that they can bring to bear and the great efforts required to stay focused on the job particularly looking at where the country is today and with the experience on the job that I personally had, Peter Obi as a mentee has an edge,” he noted.
The ex-President challenged Nigerian youths to ignore divisive antics employed by politicians. He also noted that the job of a President was too vigorous for aged candidates.
“The vigour, energy, agility, dynamism and outreach that the job of leadership of Nigeria requires at the very top may not be provided as a septuagenarian or older. I know that from personal experience. And it is glaring out of our current experiences. Otherwise, we will be fed with, ‘The President says,’ and we will neither see nor hear him directly as we should.
“I challenge the youth to arise. Let nobody pull wool over your eyes to divide you and/or segregate you to make you underlings. Nigerian youth, wherever they come from, North or South, East or West, need education which is now denied to over 20 million children; Nigerian youth also need skills, empowerment, employment, reasonably good living conditions, welfare and well-being,” Obasanjo noted.
He also pointed out that challenges plaguing the country, including poverty, unemployment and insurgency, resulted from actions of elected leaders..
‘Endorsement worthless’
Responding to Obasanjo’s lengthy message, the Director, Media and Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu, would not lose sleep over the endorsement of his Labour Party counterpart by the former president.
Onanuga, in a statement on Sunday, described the endorsement as worthless, adding that Obasanjo was a paperweight with no political goodwill or leverage anywhere in Nigeria to make anyone win a councillorship election let alone a presidential election.
The statement read, “We read with amusement the endorsement of Mr Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate by former president Olusegun Obasanjo in his New Year message on Sunday.
“Following calls by journalists from various media houses who asked for our reaction, we decided to make this preliminary statement, though we didn’t consider the so-called endorsement to be of any value.
“We respect the democratic right of former President Obasanjo to support and endorse any candidate of his choice in any election. Except that he made it known formally in his New Year message, any discerning political watcher in Nigeria knows that Chief Obasanjo’s preference for Peter Obi is expected.
“He had earlier stated his position at various public events, the last being at the 70th birthday anniversary of Chief John Nwodo, former President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu.
“We make bold to say that our party and candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not lose sleep over Obasanjo’s move, as Obasanjo is notorious for always opposing progressive political forces, as he did against MKO Abiola in 1993.
“The endorsement is worthless because the former president does not possess any political goodwill or leverage anywhere in Nigeria to make anyone win a councillorship election, let alone a presidential election. He is a political paperweight. He is also not a democrat anyone should be proud to be associated with.’’
Onanuga alleged that while in power, Obasanjo in 2003 and 2007 used the coercive instruments of state at his disposal to railroad people into elective offices against the will of Nigerians as expressed at the polls.
“In 2007, he declared the polls a do-or-die affair after he failed in his bid to amend our constitution to have a third term. From our records, former president Obasanjo has not successfully made anyone win an election in Nigeria since then. Not even in Ogun State can anyone rely on his support or endorsement to become a governor or councillor,’’ he contended.
Expressing pity for Obi, Onanuga said the APC is confident that Obasanjo cannot win his polling unit and ward in Abeokuta for the LP candidate in the coming presidential election.
The statement added, “We want to state here that Chief Obasanjo is not a good judge of character. He is a man who considers only himself as the all-knowing saint in Nigeria. Over the years, Chief Obasanjo has also convinced himself that integrity, honesty and all good virtues begin and end with him.”
In its comment, the PDP noted that the endorsement of the Labour Party’s standard bearer by the ex-President was not as important as the endorsement of the Nigerian people who have resolved to elect a credible leader in the 2023 general election.
Only the endorsement of Nigerians matter to us – PDP
In its reaction, the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it is only concerned about the endorsement of the Nigerian people and not that of an individual no matter how important the person is.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba told our correspondent that Nigerians have endorsed PDP and Atiku Abubakar, saying that the endorsement of a single individual does not bother them.
“Nigerians have endorsed PDP, they have endorsed Atiku Abubakar and that is happening on a daily basis. You can see that from the reception from our campaigns. Our recent victories in Osun, FCT and others are indicators. We are confident that the PDP will win irrespective of whatever endorsement that is given because experience on the ballot matters,” Ologunagba said.
The party spokesman further said the “Endorsement of Obasanjo is that of an individual and it is within his rights to endorse whoever he wants. But as a party, our focus is to get the endorsement of the Nigerian people, no one person endorsement will translate to vote one way or another.
“As important as Obasanjo might be, what is important is that it is within his rights to endorse who he wants, but we are focused on the Nigerian people for their endorsement. What is important is that Nigerians have seen what is happening and they cannot be carried away by an endorsement from an individual. That is why as a party, we are focused on the issues of the election.
“What are the issues? Insecurity, nepotism, inexperience in government, the lack of preparedness of the APC government, which is apparent, those are the issues. The PDP has provided Nigerians with candidate Atiku Abubakar, who has adequate experience for the task ahead. That is why many people even from the APC are coming in to join Atiku. They are leaving the party because they know the true situation of things.” He said.
Credit: The Nigeria Lawyers