.jpeg)
The endorsement of the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo was on Sunday described as worthless.
The description was made by the Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
While conceding that it was within the democratic rights of the former president to endorse anyone, Tinubi recalled how the former president's adopted candidates had lost elections in the past, declaring that not even in Obasanjo’s home state, Ogun, can anyone rely on his endorsement to be governor or councillor?
It would be recalled that Obasanjo had in a new year message to Nigerians youths carpeted knocked Tinubu and his former deputy, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), insisting that only Obi holds a promise for the country.
Obasanjo had said: “Let me say straight away that ‘Emi Lokan’ (My turn) and ‘I have paid my dues' are one and the same thing and are wrong attitudes and mentality for the leadership of Nigeria now.
“They cannot form the new pedestal to reinvent and invest in a new Nigeria based on an All-Nigeria Government for the liberation and restoration of Nigeria.
“Such a government must have representation from all sectors of our national life: public, private, civil society, professional, labour, employers, and the diaspora. The solution should be in we’ and ‘us’ and not in ‘me’ and ‘I”.
But in a statement issued by the Director, Media and Publicity of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu posited that he was responding to the development after a series of calls by journalists seeking his reaction.
The council noted that the former president has a history of failed endorsements, and expressed sympathy for Obi, who it said is on his way to joining the list of losers endorsed by Obasanjo in the past.
Part of the statement reads; “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”, the council noted.
The Tinubu campaign council added that except that the former president formally made his decision known in his new year message, “any discerning political watcher in Nigeria knows that Chief Obasanjo’s preference for Peter Obi is expected”.
The campaign council suggested that Obasanjo had earlier stated his position at various public events, the last being at the 70th birthday anniversary of Chief John Nwodo, a former President of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Enugu.
In insisting that Obasanjo is not a democrat who anyone should be proud to be associated with, the Tinubu campaign said it would not lose any sleep over the development.
“We make bold to say that our party and candidate, Asíwájú 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 win a Presidential election. He is a political paperweight.
“He is also not a democrat anyone should be proud to be associated with.
“We recall that in 2003 and 2007 general elections when he was a sitting President, Obasanjo used all 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, 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?
“We pity Peter Gregory Obi, as we are confident that Chief Obasanjo cannot win his polling unit and ward in Abeokuta for Obi in the coming Presidential election on 25 February 2023.
“Chief Obasanjo’s endorsement is not a political currency Mr. Peter Obi can spend anywhere in Nigeria because he is not a political force, even in his part of the country.
“Chief Obasanjo similarly endorsed Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party candidate in 2019 against President Muhammadu Buhari. Atiku was walloped by Buhari with a wide margin in the election.
“History will repeat itself in February as our candidate Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu will equally beat Obi by a large margin.
“We take particular notice of the part of the endorsement statement where Chief Obasanjo said none of the presidential candidates is a Saint.
“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”, the council added.
All rights reserved. This material and other digital volumes on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from THE NEWS ACCELERATOR NETWORK.
For advert placement, please contact thenewsacceleratornetwork@gmail.com or 08184450958.
إرسال تعليق