Presidential Adviser on Media, Reuben Abati, in a new statement released minutes ago has confirmed that former President Obasanjo actually wrote the malicious letter to President Jonathan which was exclusively released by PremiumTimes yesterday.
In the statement he also mentioned President Jonathan's reply to Obasanjo.
We have noted the publication on several websites today of a letter recently written by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
The Presidency acknowledges that it has indeed received the said letter from Chief Obasanjo.
We however find it highly unbecoming, mischievous and provocative that a letter written
by a former Head of State and respected elder statesman to President Jonathan has been deliberately leaked to the mass media in a deplorable effort to impugn the integrity of the President and denigrate his commitment to giving Nigeria the best possible leadership.
While many patriotic, objective and well-meaning Nigerians have already condemned the leaked letter as self-serving, hypocritical, malicious, indecent, and very disrespectful of the highest office in the land, President Jonathan has directed that none of his aides or any government official should join issues with Chief Obasanjo over it.
The President himself will, at the appropriate time, offer a full personal response to the most reckless, baseless, unjustifiable and indecorous charges levied against him and his administration by the former Head of State.Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)
December 11, 2013
In an 18-page letter to the
President, Obasanjo accused him, among other things, of not honouring
his words and taking actions calculated at destroying Nigeria.
The letter dated December 2, 2013 and
titled, “Before it is too late” became public knowledge on Wednesday.
Only on Monday, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu
Tambuwal, said Jonathan was paying lip service to the anti-corruption
campaign in the country.
In the letter, Obasanjo accused the
President of pursuing “ selfish personal and political interests based
on advise from his “self-centred aides.”
He also alleged that the President had
failed to deliver on his promises to Nigerians and to curb insurgency
and corruption in the country.
“Nigeria is bleeding and the hemorrhage
must be stopped,” an obviously angry Obasanjo lamented. He went ahead
to declare that “Jonathan had betrayed God and Nigerians,” who voted
him into power.
Obasanjo further alleged that Jonathan
had not only placed more than 1, 000 Nigerians on a political
watchlist, he had succeeded in destroying the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party and polarised Nigeria along regional and religious
lines.
He also said the President was involved in anti-party activities.
• PDP crises and Jonathan’s personal agenda
He said the President was using the PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, to cause the lingering crises in the party.
Obasanjo said, “Let me start with the
leadership of the ruling party. Many of us were puzzled over what was
going on in the party. Most party members blamed the national chairman. I
understand that some in the Presidency tried to create the impression
that some of us were to blame.
“The situation became clear only when
the national chairman spoke out that he never did anything or acted in
any way without the approval or concurrence of the party leader
(Jonathan) and that where the party leader disapproved, he made
correction or amendment, that we realised most actions were those of the
chairman but the motivation and direction were those of the leader.
“It would be unfair to continue to level
full blames on the chairman for all that goes wrong with the party. The
chairman is playing the tune dictated by the paymaster (Jonathan). But
the paymaster is acting for a definitive purpose for which deceit and
deception seem to be the major ingredients.”
Obasanjo stated that Jonathan’s failure
to keep his promise not to seek a second term had also worsened the
crises in the PDP.
“Up till two months ago, Mr. President,
you told me that you have not told anybody that you would contest in
2015. I quickly pointed out to you that the signs and the measures on
the ground do not tally with your statement. You said the same to one
other person who shared his observation with me. And only a fool would
believe that statement you made to me judging by what is going on. I
must say it is not ingenious. You may wish to pursue a more credible and
more honourable path.”
He added that before the 2011 general
elections, the President told some governors and the PDP
stakeholders, including himself, that he would not seek reelection.
He specifically mentioned Benue State
Governor Gabriel Suswam, as having told him that Jonathan accepted
not to run for Presidency in 2015.
The former head of state said, “ He
(Suswam) told me that you had accepted a one-term Presidency to
allow for ease of getting support across the board in the North. I
decided to cross-check with you. You did not hesitate to
confirm to me that you are a strong believer in a one-term of six years
for the President and that by the time you have used the
unexpired time of your predecessor and the four years of your
first term, you would have almost used up to six years and you would
not need any more term or time.”
According to the former Nigerian leader,
Jonathan’s failure to keep the promise had made him appear like a
man without honour.
Obasanjo told the President that it would be “fatally morally flawed” for him to contest in 2015.
He wrote, “As a leader, two things you
must cherish and hold dear among others are trust and honour both of
which are important ingredients of character. I will want to see anyone
in the office of the Presidency as a man or woman who can be trusted, a
person of honour in his words and character.”
The former President accused Jonathan
of supporting the candidates of opposition parties in governorship
elections in Lagos, Ondo, Edo and Anambra states and causing
disagreements between party members.
He said, “Maybe you also need to know
that many party members feel disappointed in the double game you were
alleged to play in support of party governorship candidates in some
states where you surreptitiously supported non-PDP candidates against
PDP candidates in exchange for promise or act of those non-PDP governors
supporting you for your election in the past or for the one that you
are yet to formally declare.”
He claimed that a former Lagos State
Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu “was nocturnally brought to Abuja to
strike a deal for support “ for Jonathan’s personal election at the
expense of the PDP and its governorship candidate.
“If you as leader of the party cannot
be seen to be loyal to the PDP in support of the candidates of the party
and the interests of such party candidates have to be sacrificed on the
altar of your personal and political interest, then good luck to the
party and I will also say as I have had occasions to say in the past,
good luck to Goodluck,” he said in the letter.
• Insecurity/Boko Haram
Noting that the President had not been
able to tackle the remote causes of insurgency in the country,
Obasanjo again advised him to adopt “a carrot and stick approach” to
stem the problem.
He stated that “conventional military
actions based on standard phases of military operations alone will not
permanently and effectively deal with the issue of Boko Haram.”
• Factionalism/clannishness
Obasanjo also took on Jonathan for
being clannish and wondered why he had not quietened some Ijaw leaders
who publicly attack those opposed to his leadership style.
The former President said, “For you to
allow yourself to be ‘possessed’, so to say, to the exclusion of most of
the rest of Nigerians as an ‘Ijaw man’ is a mistake that should never
have been allowed to happen.
“Yes, you have to be born in one part of
Nigeria to be Nigerian if not naturalised but the Nigerian President
must be above ethnic factionalism. And those who prop you up as of, and
for ‘Ijaw nation’ are not your friends genuinely, not friends of Nigeria
nor friends of the ‘Ijaw nation’ they tout about.
“To allow or tacitly encourage people of
‘Ijaw nation’ to throw insults on other Nigerians from other parts of
the country and threaten fire and brimstone to protect your interest as
an Ijaw man is myopic and your not openly quieting them is even more
unfortunate.”
• Political watchlist
Obasanjo also alleged that the
President had not only placed more than 1, 000 Nigerians on a
political watch list, he had encouraged the “training of snipers and
other armed personnel secretly and clandestinely.”
He added that weapons were being
purchased them for political purposes and training given to them
where Abacha trained his killers.
The former President wondered why the Presidency was providing assistance for “a murderer” to evade justice.
He said, “Presidential assistance for a
murderer to evade justice and presidential delegation to welcome him
home can only be in bad taste generally but particularly to the family
of his victim.
“Assisting criminals to evade justice
cannot be part of the job of the presidency. Or, as it is viewed in some
quarters, is he being recruited to do for you what he had done for
Abacha in the past? Hopefully, he should have learned his lesson. Let us
continue to watch.”
Obasanjo did not give the name of
the but he was apparently referring to the former Chief Security
Officer to Abacha, Hamza Al-Mustapha.
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