Three major opposition parties in Ogun State have backed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s call on President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019.
The political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, the Accord Party and the Labour Party, said in separate interviews, in Abeokuta, that Buhari should heed Obasanjo’s advice by not contesting in the next presidential election.
They accused the Buhari-led administration and the ruling All Progressives Congress of performing below the expectations of Nigerians, insisting that the President should perish the thought of going for a second term.
The Secretary, PDP, Ogun State, Mr. Bolaji Adeniji, said that Obasanjo’s statement had spoken the minds of many Nigerians against the Buhari administration, blaming him for nepotism on the side of the Fulani herdsmen, who he described as a terrorist group.
What Obasanjo has said is in order and in line with the thoughts of most Nigerians at the moment
Adeniji said, “What Obasanjo has said is in order and in alignment with the thought of most Nigerians at the moment. And to add salt to the injury, Mr. President has pampered them; now Fulani established militia are killing people in their hundreds on a weekly basis.
“Yes, some of us don’t agree with Obasanjo as a person or even when he was in power. Well, he is gone and is no longer our president. There have been two presidents after him. It is the people that are there that we should ask for accountability.”
Similarly, the Publicity Secretary, AP, Ogun State, Mr. Michael Adesanya, noted that Buhari had failed Nigerians, calling on citizens to vote against him, if he failed to heed the former president’s advice not to vie for the office of the President in 2019.
Adesanya, however, berated the APC for declaring that Buhari remained the best option for Nigerians, saying there were many candidates who could perform better than the current President.
He said, “It is very obvious that he has not performed up to the expectations of the people that voted him into power. Instead of dissipating energy on his re-election, he should concentrate on his work.
“No! Buhari can never be the best option for Nigeria. Nigerians are civilised. An average Nigerian is more brilliant than Buhari; he can never be the best president for Nigeria. There are a lot of other candidates that are better than him.”
Speaking in the same vein, the state Chairman of LP, Comrade Abayomi Arabambi, described Obasanjo’s statement as a good omen, lamenting that Buhari’s government had not brought the real change, but corruption, nepotism and poverty to the country.
Arabambi said, “APC is the best option for poverty; the best option for corruption is APC; the best option for nepotism. So, when they say they are the best option, best option for what? There is famine in the land. There is inequality in the land and there is joblessness in the land.”
