President Goodluck Jonathan has telephoned former President Olusegun Obasanjo to deny responsibility for promoting a controversial member of his Peoples Democratic Party, Buruji Kashamu, as an influential party leader in the south-west geo-political zone, a development that has infuriated Mr. Obasanjo, sources close to the former president said Saturday.
Mr. Obasanjo was travelling to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, at the time of the conversation with Mr. Jonathan, those familiar with the matter said.
Usually reliable presidency sources said Mr. Jonathan hurriedly called Mr. Obasanjo on Thursday shortly after he received the former president’s latest letter informing him and the PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, that he was suspending participation in party activities for as long as the ruling party continued to treat Mr. Kashamu, believed to be a fugitive, with reverence.
Our sources said during the telephone exchanges, Mr. Jonathan appealed to Mr. Obasanjo to reconsider his decision to suspend himself from the party, saying he would personally prevail on Mr. Tukur to stop fraternizing with Mr. Kashamu and imposing him on the South-West PDP as a rallying point.
The president, according to our sources, told Mr. Obasanjo that he had never met Mr. Kashamu and had never instructed anyone to accord the controversial Ogun politician a special or preferential treatment in the party.
“Baba, believe me, I don’t know Kashamu,” our sources quoted Mr. Jonathan as saying. “I think it is the chairman (Tukur) that knows him. Personally, I have nothing with him. But I will ask chairman.
“Kindly consider your decision again. The PDP belongs to us all and we need to correct whatever is wrong together.”
The president then promised to “hear from” Mr Tukur, and to “do something” about the matter, those informed about the discussion said.
In his response, Mr. Obasanjo is said to have explained to the president his frustration at explaining to world leaders how an alleged criminal, wanted by the United States authorities, ended up as a leader of Nigeria’s ruling party.
He reportedly told the president that his assurance of action might amount to nothing as he believed not much could be done as of now.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media, Reuben Abati could not be reached to comment for this story. Several telephone calls to him failed to connect.
But three separate presidential aides, who do not want to be named for fear they might be sanctioned, however confirmed details of the conversation between Mr. Jonathan and Mr. Obasanjo.
Contacted, Mr. Obasanjo’s spokesperson, Tunde Oladunjoye, said he had no permission from his boss to confirm details of his conversation with anyone.
An aide of the former president however confirmed the exchanges.
President Goodluck Jonathan (left), ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo
President
Goodluck Jonathan has telephoned former President Olusegun Obasanjo to
deny responsibility for promoting a controversial member of his Peoples
Democratic Party, Buruji Kashamu, as an influential party leader in the
south-west geo-political zone, a development that has infuriated Mr.
Obasanjo, sources close to the former president said Saturday.
Mr. Obasanjo was travelling to Addis
Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, at the time of the conversation with Mr.
Jonathan, those familiar with the matter said.
Usually reliable presidency sources said
Mr. Jonathan hurriedly called Mr. Obasanjo on Thursday shortly after he
received the former president’s latest letter informing him and the PDP
National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, that he was suspending participation
in party activities for as long as the ruling party continued to treat
Mr. Kashamu, believed to be a fugitive, with reverence.
Our sources said during the telephone
exchanges, Mr. Jonathan appealed to Mr. Obasanjo to reconsider his
decision to suspend himself from the party, saying he would personally
prevail on Mr. Tukur to stop fraternizing with Mr. Kashamu and imposing
him on the South-West PDP as a rallying point.
The president, according to our sources,
told Mr. Obasanjo that he had never met Mr. Kashamu and had never
instructed anyone to accord the controversial Ogun politician a special
or preferential treatment in the party.
“Baba, believe me, I don’t know
Kashamu,” our sources quoted Mr. Jonathan as saying. “I think it is the
chairman (Tukur) that knows him. Personally, I have nothing with him.
But I will ask chairman.
“Kindly consider your decision again. The PDP belongs to us all and we need to correct whatever is wrong together.”
The president then promised to “hear
from” Mr Tukur, and to “do something” about the matter, those informed
about the discussion said.
In his response, Mr. Obasanjo is said to
have explained to the president his frustration at explaining to world
leaders how an alleged criminal, wanted by the United States
authorities, ended up as a leader of Nigeria’s ruling party.
He reportedly told the president that
his assurance of action might amount to nothing as he believed not much
could be done as of now.
The Special Adviser to the President on
Media, Reuben Abati could not be reached to comment for this story.
Several telephone calls to him failed to connect.
But three separate presidential aides,
who do not want to be named for fear they might be sanctioned, however
confirmed details of the conversation between Mr. Jonathan and Mr.
Obasanjo.
Contacted, Mr. Obasanjo’s spokesperson,
Tunde Oladunjoye, said he had no permission from his boss to confirm
details of his conversation with anyone.
An aide of the former president however confirmed the exchanges.
 |
| Ex-President Obasanjo's letter to PDP Chairman Bamanga Tukur |
Mr. Obasanjo had in a January 7 letter to Mr. Tukur announced that he was withdrawing from the activities of the PDP for as long as Mr. Kashamu, whom he accuses of being a “wanted habitual criminal”, remains a leader of the party in the south west, the former president’s geopolitical zone.
In a letter to Mr. Tukur on Tuesday, Mr. Obasanjo said he would remain a “card-carrying member” of the governing party, but will no longer participate in the party’s functions at all levels.
“Politics played by any national political party must have morality, decency, discipline, principles and leadership examples as cardinal practices of the party,” the former president’s letter, published on Saturday, read. “I have attached here recent documents that clearly indicates that you extolled PDP zonal leader in the South West of Nigeria and an indigene of Ogun State, who is, to say the least, not a credit to the party as a member let alone being a zonal leader.”
Mr. Obasanjo, a native of Ogun State, as Mr. Kashamu, said while he believed that a truly national political party should, as a microcosm of a nation, bear all forms of characters as members, he however found no justification in extolling a “known criminal” wanted abroad on drug-related charges.
“Since I stick in my practice of party politics to the hallowed and cherished principles enunciated above, I take this opportunity to let you know that while I continue to remain a card-carrying member of PDP, I cannot and I will not subscribe to a wanted habitual criminal being installed as my zonal leader in the party; a criminal for whom extradition has been requested by the US government,” Mr. Obasanjo said.
Mr. Kashamu dismissed Mr. Obasanjo’s letter as a “cocktail of lies” and a “campaign of calumny” inspired by the former president’s loss of political relevance in the Southwest.
“Let me state from the outset that contrary to Obasanjo’s claim, I am not the leader of the party in the South West,” he said in a statement on Saturday. “I am just one of the party’s foot soldiers in the zone and it is in that capacity that I am made the chairman of the Organisation and Mobilisation Committee for the party in the zone.”
Mr. Kashamu said it was “preposterous” to be referred to as the leader of the party in a zone that parades Bode George, Shuaibu Oyedokun, Lekan Balogun, Iyiola Omisore, Teslim Folarin, Yekeen Adeojo, Clement Awoyelu, Ayodele Fayose, Bode Olajumoke.
He denied being wanted in the US.
Officials close to President Jonathan and Mr. Obasanjo said the president contacted the former leader by phone after being informed of Mr. Obasanjo’s letter to the PDP chairman. He denied responsibility for Mr. Kashamu’s appointment, a decision he blamed on Mr. Tukur, who has been at the centre of the PDP’s months of intractable internal crisis.
Coming about a month after Mr. Obasanjo penned a scathing letter accusing Mr. Jonathan of being inept and corrupt –allegations the president rejected in his reply-, the telephone communication over Mr. Kashamu appears partly a fence-mending move by the two leaders as their party’s troubles escalate in the face of credible threat from the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC.
Culled fropm Premium Times
Gej denounce your 2015 ambition for peace rign in PDP.
ReplyDeleteSomeone DAT shud av bin killed by Abacha now making mouth. Idiot. U stil dey get mouth. If u r clean, tender ALL ur bank statement and lets c whether it is only ur salary that was been paid inside. That's transparency. Winkie
ReplyDeleteCertainly there is nothing that shows that comments are moderated if a certain anonymous above could refer to a former president as an idiot. Please you'll do better to moderate and clean up comments.
ReplyDeleteThere is really no moderation of comments as claimed by most online news media going by the uncountable raw languages used on our leaders. They may be bad - yes, as they are, but there are ways to address them, not the straight abusive words we use most times on in describing our leaders.
ReplyDeleteBt..., hey man. .., OBJ is a capital idiot! FOOL!
ReplyDeleteObj can you explain to us abt. The transformation of operation feed the Nation (OFN) that was transformed to Obasanjo Farms Nig (OFN) when you are a Military Head of States? Please your yash too dey smell Baba.
ReplyDeleteAs far as i know, OBJ is d root of pDP crisis,and he is now claiming a saint.nonsense.
ReplyDeleteAnonym 11:42pm,thanks for dat point but how many times have u commented like these when GEJ are being rained with all sorts of abuse?
ReplyDeleteNa wa o! It has turned to tribal war! Truth is Obj n Gej have huge skeletons in their wardrobe! Gej is afraid of 2015 already,If Obj withdraws matters will be worse! Well for their information, if opp parties bring credible candidates we will so kick pdp out! Except they will do their usual rigging and then we will occupy Nigeria till they step down! We re sick of them all! Whew!
ReplyDeleteGEJ is a fool he most fall cm 2015
ReplyDeleteHmmmmmm....all these reporters......quoting as if they listened and witnessed the conversation....were their phones on speak out during the conversation?
ReplyDeleteTHIS CASE, IS NOT SOMETHING PEOPLE WILL RUSH AND START TO SAY WITHOUT KNOWING THE UNDERGRAND ISSUES.BECAUSE THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING.THIS ONE WRITE A LATTER, THE OPENET LATTER A LATTER. THEN WHO TO BELIEVE.LAST TIME:OBJ LEAVE PDP,NOW WAS THREATEN TO LEAVE. THE MEAN THING IS THAT WE DON'T KNOW HOW PROBLEM.PDP IS OWN BY STRONG HAND.STRONG HAND SIMPLY MEANS HAND? HAND THAT CAN COURS HURT OR GOOD DEEDS.SO LET THAT STRONG HAND OF GOOD SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.OTHER PARTYS IS WATCHING PDP FALLING AND IS FALLING INDID.WHAT ARE WE DOING.LET DO SOMETHING BEFORE WE FALL OUT.PLS MR PRESIDENT ONLY THING I ALWAYS ASK IS FOR YOU TO REMAIN FOCUS. BECAUSE A LEADER THAT LOOSE FOCUS AND VISION LOSE PURPOSE.IS SOMEHOW BUT LOOK AT IT.PURPOSE IS THE BEGINNING OF JOURNY OF A SOMETHING.
ReplyDeleteJune 12 people, Una don come again !
ReplyDelete@anon 11.42pm and 5.21am. I guess u r d same person, what about the words FFK used to describe GEH even in national newspaper read by millions of people across the word, what do u call that? Respect for a man in power? Pls, pls, pls. U gan na idiot. I knw say u b Yoruba man. Winkie
ReplyDelete