President Muhammadu Buhari has
finally spoken on the strong-worded letter ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote
to him in January.
In the letter, Obasanjo asked the
president to forget about contesting in 2019, saying doing so would amount to
overstretching the tolerance of Nigerians.
He advised Buhari to retire from
active public service and take his “role on the sidelines as a statesman”.
Femi Adesina, spokesman of the
president, had said Buhari ordered his aides not to join issues with Obasanjo.
However, Lai Mohammed, minister
of information, replied the ex-president by listing the achievements of the
current administration.
Speaking in Bauchi during a state
banquet in his honour on Thursday night, Buhari said he opted for silence but
Mohammed convinced him that there ought to be a response from the federal
government.
He said after his initial
reluctance, he consented to Mohammed’s wish after an agreement had been reached
that the minister would not mention Obasanjo’s name in his response.
The dinner was attended by
Mohammed Abubakar, governor of Bauchi; his deputy, ministers and top government
officials.
“Tonight, I want to remind you
people of what Lai Mohammed did when a letter was written on our failure as an
administration. Lai Mohammed was agitated about replying but I said no. I said
no for two resunks: one, he is much younger than the person who wrote the
letter and myself; two, he is from the same constituency as the person who
wrote the letter.
“But when Mohammed came again, I
said he should go out but he said he won’t go. I asked why and he said let me
give him a chance to say what he wanted, then I said go on. He said in what he
would do, he would not mention names but only try to remind Nigerians what the
country was when we came in, where we are now, and what we have done with the
resources available to us.
“Eventually, I had to admit that
he was right and I was wrong because a number of people who could get in touch
with me have said that Lai did a good job. A lot of them are in the media… I am
very happy with the performance of our party, the All Progressive Congress.”
Buhari also went down memory lane
to narrate how the “betrayal” of some of his former political associates
informed his insistence on finding credible platform that would enable him
“rescue the country”.
“I will like to go down some
historical antecedents so that people can assess. When we were in the APP, I
went through an impartial primary and I won the ticket. I think for the third
or fourth time and while I was in court, because I felt I was ready to be
president, the person who was to be my vice-president, allowed himself to be
appointed by the presidency,” he said.
“The chairman and vice-chairman
of the party accepted; even when I was still in court as a presidential
candidate. That’s why I got out and formed the CPC; when we realised that if we
don’t work together, that is the opposition parties, and wrestle power from the
PDP, this country would have sunk.”
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Has the country not sunk now with all these incessant killing both in the northeast and middle-belt? Your administration is an epitome of Failure.
ReplyDeleteI agree and align perfectly with your view Bros.
DeleteBuhari and Lie Mohammed are birds of a feather. What more do expect?
ReplyDeleteWe expect good days ahead. Kudu's to PMB
ReplyDeletestory for the gods..
Delete