President Olusegun Obasanjo
Former president of Nigeria who was at a time the BoT Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday addressed newsmen to clarify his stance on the forthcoming presidential elections, as well as the particular candidate who has his support.
The elder statesman who spoke with journalists on the sidelines of the launch of his new book ‘My Watch’ in the United Kingdom, threw more light on reports in the media which suggest he had endorsed the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari.
He maintained that his wish is basically to see Nigeria headed by a strong president.
According to him, “Well, whatever you get in the paper and in the press, please yourself, he said, referring to guests at the event who wanted to confirm the reported endorsement.
“What I said and I maintain that and I will say it again and I will do it. When the time comes for me to vote, I will consider the track record of all the candidates that are contesting and I will assess and based on my assessment for who I believe have the best track record to perform the job of the Nigerian president, then he will have my vote and if anybody should know what the job of the Nigerian president requires, I should know,” he stated.
While observing that Nigeria is populated by 180 million people, Obasanjo said, “For me, there are millions who can run the affairs of Nigeria who are not even coming out. So why should you die on behalf of one who is probably performing as a mediocre, with all due respect.
“Nigeria, if you love it, you would look for the best for Nigeria and I don’t believe that at this point in time we have the best for Nigeria,” he said.
The Nigerian media was yesterday awash with the report that the highly influential former president has endorsed the candidacy of General Buhari. He was said to have given this endorsement at the launch of his autobiography in Nairobi, Kenya. Buhari wasted no time in welcoming the endorsement which he said would make more Nigerians believe in him while the PDP reacted by noting that its former BoT Chairman is entitled to his opinion.
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