Letter to PMB: Obasanjo enjoys this type of sensationalisation - Minister of communications
- Nigeria's minister of communications, Adebayo Shittu, has taken a swipe at ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo
- The minister said those who know should enlighten the former president on the achievements of President Buhari
- He also noted that Obasanjo is not in the position to advise the president on the 2019 general election
Nigeria's minister of communications and the main leader of the president’s reelection in the southwest, Adebayo Shittu, on Monday, January 29, came down hard on former president Olusegun Obasanjo, The Cable reports.
Legit.ng gathered that Shittu accusing the elder statesman of engaging in sensationalism, said if he were ignorant of President Muhammadu Buhari’s achievements, those “who know” could enlighten him.
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He asked Obasanjo to allow members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) decide Buhari’s fate, saying the Nigerian leader is not in the position to advise Buhari on the next election year.
The minister while addressing state house correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja said: “Obasanjo as a Nigerian has the right to hold an opinion. If Obasanjo holds an opinion that Mr President has performed less than it should be, those of us who are in the position to know better have a right to also state the other side which perhaps Obasanjo is ignorant of.
“You see, there are some people who enjoy engaging in sensationalism. With due respect to General Obasanjo, if you take his history over the last 30 years, there is hardly any regime, other than his own, that he did not criticise. Sani Abacha didn’t wait for Obasanjo to criticise him before sending him to the gulag.
“So, many Nigerians know that Obasanjo enjoys this type of sensationalisation. In any case, no matter what impression you have of me, do you have a right to tell me not to contest an election? I mean we should talk like people who are educated, who know our left from the right."
The minister added that there procedures for election which involves a party deciding how candidates will emerge. He said Buhari is a member of the APC and it is left for party members to decide whether he has performed well or not by showing it during the primary election.
“In any case, since Obasanjo is no more a member of a party, with due respect, it doesn’t lie in his mouth to tell us who among our party members or leaders to contest or not to contest. I think Nigerians should concede this privilege to we the members of APC to decide the fate of Mr President when the next round of primary comes," Shittu concluded.
Legit.ng previously reported that the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) lambasted the minister of communications, Adebayo Shittu, for distributing President Muhammadu Buhari 2019 reelection campaign materials during the Wednesday, January 24, Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.
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The Punch reports that shortly before the commencement of the meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the minister handed over the bag to the council’s secretariat staff members for distribution.
2019 reelection bid: Should President Buhari heed Obasanjo's advice? - on Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
