Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday met with the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and counselled them on steps to adopt if they hope to ‘unseat’ President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019.
Obasanjo, who was elected Nigerian president twice from 1999 – 2007 on the platform of PDP, told the 21-man delegation of the Committee, led by PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Walid Jibrin, to pay more than passive attention to four issues he identified as needed ingredients to bring PDP back to power.
The Ebora Owu, who announced his quitting of partisan politics in the build up to the 2015 presidential election to become an elder statesman, advised the party to court and embrace “good image, internal discipline, commitment, quality leadership and moral principles.”
The early morning meeting at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) was at the instance of the NWC of the party which had earlier arrived Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, a day ahead of it. The ex – president gave the advice in response to Uche Secondus.
The party national chairman had earlier tendered words of apology on behalf the party to Obasanjo for the bad conduct and mistreatment meted out to him and also drew his attention to what he (Secondus) considered as the “distress and prostrate situation of the country today” as well as the progress report on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the grand alliance of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), among others.
These were contained in a release issued in Abeokuta by Obasanjo’s media aide, Mr. Kehinde Akinyemi, shortly after the meeting.
The release reads: “Chief Obasanjo thanked the delegation for apologising on behalf of the party and made reference to the Lord’s Prayer where we are taught to ask God for forgiveness and to grant forgiveness to others.
“He further underlined the pitiable situation of Nigeria today and the inexcusable killing and insecurity almost all over the country and the unprecedented division of the country all of which the present government seems to have no credible solution.
“After deliberations, it was made clear that the MOU for grand alliance is what it says, a grand alliance. It is neither a merger nor absorption of any political party by any political party. It is clearly for the parties who agreed to be members of the alliance to work together to achieve one important common objective at the national level for the election of 2019 and where it is appropriate and necessary members may also form alliance and cooperation at the state level.
“Chief Obasanjo reiterated to the Committee that the idea of a grand alliance was broached when the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) adopted African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a political party platform. He therefore reaffirmed his belief and support for the grand alliance.
“Chief Obasanjo, however, advised that the individuality and independence of each political party must be observed and respected by all parties concerned. It is also desirable that in the process of implementing the MOU to achieve the set objective, solidarity and focus on the objective must be maintained.
“Chief Obasanjo urged that all member political parties must be cautious of fake news, rumours, blackmail, and seeds of discord that may be sown among them from external quarters.
“He also, reminded the committee that on adoption of ADC as political party of the CNM (Coalition of Nigeria Movement), he had maintained that he will not be a member of any political party but he will make himself available to guide any party that wishes to be so guided and he has offered such guidance to ADC.
“While he may make himself available to any other party that will require it, service to ADC will be paramount, he equally pointed out to the committee that before their prompting he had put his hands on the ground and there is no looking back.
“That he will join men and women in the country and if necessary lead them, in retrieving and saving the country from shipwreck.”
Earlier, the National Chairman of PDP also appealed to the former president not to relent on giving necessary leadership to save the country from the throes of mismanagement and drift towards shipwrecking.
