Obasanjo too morally bankrupt to advise Buhari against second term bid – VATLAD

Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy (VATLAD), has faulted former President Olusegun Obasanjo for calling on President Buhari not to seek a second term come 2019.

Obasanjo has accused President Buhari of poor performance in government in areas of poverty, insecurity, poor economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condoning of misdeed, among others.

National President, VATLAD, Comrade Igbini Emmanuel, said President Obasanjo is morally bankrupt to have advised President Buhari not to seek a second term in office, saying despite his abysmal performance during his first term in office (1999 – 2003) he not only admitted same but insisted that this was the reason Nigerians must give him a second term to correct such abysmal performance.

“It is also this same President Obasanjo who deliberately abused his official office to attempt to impose himself on Nigerians for an unconstitutional third term but for the collective refusal of Nigerians.”

In terms of insecurity, he said it was during President Obasanjo’s first term that a serving Attorney General and Minster of Justice of Nigeria, Chief Bola Ige SAN, was gruesomely assassinated in what was believed to be politically motivated but President Obasanjo deliberately refused to direct investigation into this assassination and bring the criminals to justice.

Talking about nepotism, Emmanuel said it is a fact that while President Obasanjo promptly directed the relocation of headquarters of Nigerian Maritime Authority from Abuja to Lagos State, the same Obasanjo refused to order the relocation of the headquarters of the multinational oil companies from Lagos to the oil producing States of the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria.

“The same President Obasanjo refused to comply with Section 162 of the Nigerian Constitution, which provides for 13 percent derivation to the oil producing States until the Governors of the affected States protested. The same President Obasanjo refused to sign the NDDC Bill into Law but for the National Assembly that vetoed it and passed it into law.”

On corruption, Emmanuel said while President Obasanjo set out to ride Nigeria of high level corruption and looting in public offices, his eight years as President ended up being more entrenched in corruption, maintaining that his multi-billion naira Presidential Library is a project alleged to be corruptly financed from public funds.

Having said these few, Comrade Emmanuel advised President Buhari to urgently carry out total overhaul of Executive team and his political appointees as many of them do not believe in his vision and mission for Nigeria, asking him to immediately form a team of national government made up only of Nigerians with proven integrity and more importantly, proven patriotism, irrespective of the political parties they belong.

‘’We restate that this poor performance of Federal Government of Nigeria since May 29, 2015 should be squarely blamed on these current members of the National Assembly who failed and refused to carry out their constitutional functions without fear or favour.

“It is imperative to remind Nigerians that by provision of section 4 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, the legislature is to make law for Peace, Order and good government and has power to compel the executive organ of government and Nigerians to obey such laws,” Emmanuel stated.