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Unlike Buhari, Atiku’ll be President for all Nigerians – Obasanjo

Published

7 years ago

January 31, 2019

Eric

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar will be a president for all Nigerians unlike the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. He added that Atiku was a better leader than Buhari.

Obasanjo, while taking a swipe at those who said he did not trust Atiku during his tenure, said no Nigerian vice-president acted in the stead of his principal more than the PDP candidate.

He spoke on Wednesday at the Lagos Island Club Quarterly Business Lecture, where he was a guest speaker. Atiku also delivered an address at the event.

The former President said Atiku presided over several Federal Executive Council meetings during his administration from 1999 to 2007.

Obasanjo said many did not notice because he was not like Buhari who went on medical vacation for 104 days and appointed “Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo as acting President.”

He said, “One of the most ridiculous claims I have heard on these issues is that I did not give Atiku chance to preside over the Federal Executive Council because I did not trust him.

“That is not correct because he had occasions to preside on a few times that I was out of the country. On those occasions he was in charge of the Federal Executive Council meetings and no Nigerian chief executive has devolved power to his deputy as much as I did to Atiku.

“I did not need to designate him acting President because the constitution is clear; once the President is not available, the vice-president automatically acts with full powers.

“But since I was not absent from home for 104 days at a time, people may not know that Atiku actually stood in for me whenever I was out (of the country).

“You have a man who has what it takes in experience, exposure, lessons that he has learnt and he has learnt his lessons. You have a man who has what it takes at this time for us to have a change and we need a change for the better.”

Obasanjo added that the country was divided because Buhari said only those who voted for him would enjoy government’s patronage.

The former President noted that the difference between Atiku and the incumbent President would be that the former vice-president would be president for all Nigerians and not just for those who voted for him alone.

“Atiku has done one thing which is necessary for a leader to be believed or followed. He made mistakes and accepted his mistakes and asked for forgiveness. I forgave and I am sure Nigerians will do their part by voting for him. A leader should be susceptible to mistakes. When you have corruption under your nose and you are busy preaching against corruption. Atiku had not claimed to be a saint and I did not describe him as such. He has accepted his mistakes and that is what a good leader should do and not look for someone to pass the bulk to.

“I have been called names because of my position on Atiku Abubakar, the Waziri Adamawa. Everything I have said as far as I have knowledge of Atiku, I have not retracted and I stand firmly by them because they are to the best of my knowledge true. And neither has what I have said and written about Buhari been controverted. If anything, they have been confirmed and proved beyond any shadow of doubt.

“But Atiku has done three things which are absolutely imperative for a leader. First, know who you are and present yourself as you are – a human being in blood and flesh and susceptible to human mistakes and human frailties. Don’t cover up with sanctimonious veneer of bogus integrity, goodness and false figures and statistics, all of which are contrived to deceive and to destroy,” he added.

Atiku, while criticising Buhari for the suspension of the President of the National Judicial Council, Justice Walter Onnoghen, promised to resolve the economic challenges of the country.

He lamented that more than 21 million Nigerians, mostly youths, were without jobs, blaming the problem on the present government.

Atiku said, “The lesson we all learn from the success stories of countries such as South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and People’s Republic of China is that economic development does not happen by accident. Their experience teaches that to be successful, economic reforms require a progressive and forward-looking government that has the capacity to craft a coherent vision and to develop coherent policies that will actualise its vision.

“I have faith in the capacity of Nigeria to make a quantum leap from third world to first. We have the human and material resources required to make the leap.”

Meanwhile, the Buhari Diaspora Support Organisation has asked Obasanjo to stop attacking President Buhari

According to the global coordinator of the pro-Buhari organisation, Charles Sylvester, the former President’s letter writing habit was unbecoming and had ridiculed the exalted position of the former President.

The Punch

Headline

Tinubu Seeks Transfer of Jailed Ekweremadu Back to Nigeria

Published

2 days ago

November 11, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a strong delegation to London to address the situation of Ike Ekweremadu, a former Deputy Senate President, who has been imprisoned in the UK since March 2023.

The delegation includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi.

The team arrived in London on Monday and held discussions with officials from the UK’s Ministry of Justice.

Alkasim Abdulkadir, spokesperson for Tuggar, said on Tuesday that the presidential delegation was in London to engage with UK authorities to consider the possibility of Ekweremadu serving the remainder of his prison sentence in Nigeria.

The London Metropolitan Police detained the Ekweremadus in June 2022 after a man was deceitfully presented to a private renal unit at Royal Free Hospital in London as a relative of their daughter Sonia, in what turned out to be a failed attempt to convince medical professionals to perform an £80,000 transplant.

The 21-year-old man, who had allegedly been promised employment in the UK, reported the incident to the police in May of that year, saying that he had been brought to the country for an organ transplant.

In March 2023, the former presiding officer of Nigeria’s Senate was convicted of organ trafficking by a UK court. Beatrice, his wife, and Obinna Obeta, a doctor connected to the case, were also found guilty.

This verdict marked the first of its kind under the UK Modern Slavery Act.

On May 5, 2023, Ekweremadu received a nine-year and eight-month prison sentence, while his wife was sentenced to four years and six months, and Obeta was given a ten-year prison sentence.

In his ruling, Judge Jeremy Johnson determined that Beatrice should serve half of her sentence in custody and be supervised for the remainder. However, she was released from prison in January and has since returned to Nigeria.

Headline

Tinubu Congratulates Soludo on Reelection As Anambra Governor

Published

4 days ago

November 9, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Prof Chukwuma Soludo on his re-election as Governor of Anambra State.

Soludo was returned for a second term in office after recording a landslide victory, winning all 21 local government areas in the election, according to results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday.

The massive victory makes the professor the third governor in Anambra’s political history to win a second term.

In a statement he personally signed, President Tinubu described Soludo’s re-election as a testament to his visionary leadership and the significant progress recorded under his administration.

“Governor Soludo, the Solution, has demonstrated that knowledge is indeed power and that academic principles can be applied in serving the people, undergirding accountability, transparency, and prudent management of people and resources.

“I visited Anambra State in May this year, where I inaugurated some projects executed by the Soludo administration. I highlighted the good thinking behind the landmark projects embarked upon by Mr Solution. That experience is indeed remarkable and will remain indelible in my mind.

“I commend Governor Soludo for bringing discipline, grace, brilliance, and a fresh perspective to governance in Anambra. Under him, Anambra is living up to its motto as the Light of the Nation.

“I urge Governor Soludo to be magnanimous in victory and to seek the cooperation of his opponents in the just-concluded election.

“I assure Governor Soludo of my unwavering support, and I look forward to continued collaboration between Anambra and the Federal government.

“The victory of the opposition All Progressives Grand Alliance in the election again demonstrates the vitality of our political system and the fact that victory for any progressive and hardworking leader can hardly be encumbered or denied,” the President said.

President Tinubu also commended the new INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, and his team for conducting what he described as a credible election, based on reports received so far.

He charged the commission to maintain high standards and continue to improve its performance “so we can strengthen and deepen our electoral system.”

The State Returning Officer and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Omoregie Edoba, who announced the result, declared Soludo the winner after the collation of results from the local government areas.

“I hereby declare that Soludo Chukwuma Charles of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected,” he said at the State headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Awka, the state capital.

Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 99,445 votes.

Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes. George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) polled 10,576 and 1,401 votes, respectively.

Headline

Soludo in Landslide Victory, Relected As Anambra Governor

Published

4 days ago

November 9, 2025

Eric

Governor Chukwuma Soludo has secured a second term in office until 2030 after he was declared the winner of the November 8 Anambra State governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

According to the results announced by INEC in the early hours of Sunday, Soludo won by a landslide in the 21 local government areas of the South-East state.

The State Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Omoregie Edoba, declared Soludo as the winner of the exercise after the collation of results from the local government areas of the state where the election was held.

“I hereby declare that Soludo Chukwuma Charles of the APGA, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Edoba, a professor, told a gathering at the state headquarters of INEC in Awka, the state capital, where the election results were collated.

Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), secured 422,664 votes to trounce his closest rival, the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Nicholas Ukachukwu, who polled 99,445 votes.

Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes.

George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 10,576 votes and 1,401 votes, respectively.

Shortly after the results were announced, there was jubilation at the residence of the governor in Isoufia community, Aguata LGA.