The sore relationship between Nigeria’s former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on whose platform he served as president for eight years, has deteriorated with the ex-president reportedly tearing his PDP membership card in public and declaring that he no longer has anything to do with the ruling party. He did this on Monday morning at his hilltop presidential residence in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital,
Obasanjo tore his membership card before leaders of the PDP from the ward around his former residence in Ita Eko where he registered. They had come on a visit to express their concern with the former president’s recent utterances against the government of President Goodluck Jonathan and on what he said was the President’s role in the postponement of the general elections from February to March and April.
But, Obasanjo left his guests stupefied by tearing his PDP membership card before them, declaring that he would henceforth stay away from party politics and remain non-partisan.
This is coming on the heels of severe castigation he has received from PDP stalwarts and faithful for utterly criticizing President Goodluck Jonathan and hobnobbing with the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, and its presidential flag bearer, Muhammandu Buhari.
This action of the former president is one that would come as a surprise to many Nigerians as he has always prided himself as a card-carrying member of the PDP and rejected calls for him to quit the party since it was no longer convenient for him to condone the actions of its national leader, President Jonathan as well as other PDP big wigs.
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