THE Director of Media and Publicity of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) Bayo Onanuga has described former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as a political paperweight.
Onanuga said this in a statement released after Obasanjo endorsed Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi, on Sunday, January 1.
According to him, the endorsement will not make any difference in the forthcoming elections.
Onanuga said APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu will not lose sleep over Obasanjo’s decision to back Obi.
“We make bold to say that our party and candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will not lose sleep over Obasanjo’s move, as Obasanjo is notorious for always opposing progressive political forces, as he did against MKO Abiola in 1993.
“The endorsement is actually worthless because the former President does not possess any political goodwill or leverage anywhere in Nigeria to make anyone win a Councillorship election, let alone win a Presidential election. He is a political paperweight. He is also not a democrat anyone should be proud to be associated with.”
Onanuga noted that although Obasanjo had attempted to force his candidates into elective offices during his tenure as President, he would be unable to deliver his polling unit in Ogun State to the Labour Party.
“We take particular notice of the part of the endorsement statement where Chief Obasanjo said none of the presidential candidates is a saint. We want to state here that Chief Obasanjo is not a good judge of character. He is a man who considers only himself as the all-knowing saint in Nigeria.
“Over the years, Chief Obasanjo has also convinced himself that integrity, honesty and all good virtues begin and end with him,” Onanuga noted.
Obasanjo had, in a New Year message to Nigerians on Sunday, endorsed Obi as his preferred presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.
Obasanjo noted that Obi has an edge over other candidates and pointed out that the responsibilities of a President were too vigorous for candidates over 70 years of age.
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, some of the leading presidential candidates have held meetings with Obasanjo.
APC candidate, Bola Tinubu, visited him at his Abeokuta residence in August 2022.
After the meeting, reports emerged that Obasanjo had endorsed Tinubu. Obasanjo, however, debunked the claims.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.