Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo has made a strong public accusation against the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, claiming that he has been “polluting” Nigeria’s electoral process since his appointment in 2015. This statement appears to stem from Obasanjo’s recent launch of his new book: ‘Nigeria: Past and Future’, where he critiqued systemic issues in Nigeria’s democracy, including corruption in the judiciary and electoral bodies. The accusation was reported widely highlighting Obasanjo’s long-standing concerns about electoral integrity under Yakubu’s leadership. The former military Head…
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“I would’ve gotten 3rd-term presidency if I wanted” – Obasanjo insists
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has said he would have gotten a third-term in office if he wanted. Speaking on a television programme on Thursday, the former president said his decision not to run for a third term was because he never wanted it, adding that some ex-governors in his administration also wanted a third term. He said the governors were waiting for him to make the first move before they pushed for their third-term ambition. According to Obasanjo: “If I had wanted a third term, I would have gotten it;…
Read MoreObasanjo slams NNPCL over invitation to inspect refineries
…Says ‘it’s disrespectful’ Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has berated the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd., (NNPCL), over an invitation extended to him to inspect refineries, noting that it is disrespectful. The state oil company had through its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, invited the former president for a tour of the Port-Harcourt and Warri refineries. The corporation’s invitation followed an interview on a television programme on Thursday, during which Obasanjo recounted failed efforts to privatise oil plants in the country. The former president expressed frustration over the mismanagement of…
Read More“Yar’Adua voided refineries sale over conflict of interest” – Falana to Obasanjo
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday attributed the Federal Government’s cancellation of a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) arrangement for the management of the Port-Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries approved by the Obasanjo government in 2007 to the questionable circumstances surrounding the deal. Falana, responding to the Thursday statement by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on how his successor, the Late Umaru Yar Adua, refunded the $750 million paid by a consortium to run the refineries, said the deal lacked transparency. The activist, in a statement issued on behalf of Alliance on Surviving Covid…
Read More“Tinubu came to office without a plan” Obasanjo
Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu, stating that he came to power without a plan for the country. In a recent interview, Obasanjo emphasised that leadership goes beyond making pronouncements, especially when such statements have not been thoroughly studied. According to him, What do you say about a president who came to office without a plan? He came into office without a plan; and then he woke up and just announced a three-point plan. What is this three-point plan? What are its objectives? Who developed it? You simply open…
Read More“20m out-of-school children recruitment pool for Boko Haram” Obasanjo
Former Nigeria’s President, Olusegun Obasanjo, says the growing number of out-of-school children in the country poses a great security risk for the nation in the future. He said that the over 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria are only being prepared for recruitment into Boko Haram and banditry in the next 10 to 15 years. The former president said this in Bauchi yesterday, at the commissioning ceremony of some selected projects executed by Governor Bala Mohammed. He said, Let me emphasise what we want to do, human capacity building, education…
Read More2027: OBJ, IBB, AbdulSalami mull Atiku, Obi as replacement of Tinubu
.Considering David Mark as PDP National Chairman In a deft move to unseat President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 poll, the trio of former Nigerian leaders, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, AbdulSalami Abubakar and top military brass are reportedly looking in the direction of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar to come to the rescue of the country. Also on the list of the power brokers who met behind closed doors in Minna last weekend is the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 poll, Mr. Peter Obi.…
Read MoreState of the Nation: OBJ holds strategic meeting with IBB, AbdulSalami, Gusau in Minna
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Head of State, General AbdulSalami Abubakar (rtd), General Aliyu Gusau (rtd), yesterday, visited ex-military President, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), at his Hill Top residence in Minna, Niger State. It was gathered that Obasanjo arrived Minna International Airport in Golf Steam 5 Aircraft at about 4:30pm and drove straight to Babangidas residence, where he joined AbdulSalami and Gusau. A source familiar with the visit said the four elder statesmen held a closed-door meeting that lasted for about an hour, after which Obasanjo left Minna around 6:20pm.…
Read More“Its immoral to fix your salaries, allowances” – Obasanjo to NASS
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says it is immoral for the members of the 10th National Assembly to determine their salaries and allowances. Obasanjo stated this on Friday, when he hosted some members of the House of Representatives in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. The former president said it is the duty of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC) to determine what public officeholders earn. Look at your case, with all due respect, Obasanjo had said, You are not supposed to fix your salaries or your allowances; it is…
Read MoreConstitutional Alteration: ‘6-year single-term presidency not solution to Nigeria’s problems’ – Obasanjo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says a proposed six-year single-term presidency isn’t the silver bullet to the challenges bedevilling the country. The elder statesman also warned that Nigeria won’t move closer to achieving its dreams unless the leaders and citizens embrace a concept he described as moral rearmament. He made this known when he received six members of the House of Representatives at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, on Friday, August 9, 2024. Obasanjo noted that the West African giant was sitting on a keg of gunpowder which could blow…
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