Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that the postponement of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was part of the grand plans by President Goodluck Jonathan to win the election by all means.
Obasanjo, who was instrumental for the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan as Vice President in 2007, has become a fodder in the hands of opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
the former President who remains a member of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has been more critical of the president than even the leaders of opposition.
It is generally believed that the former president is hurting because President Jonathan refused to be his puppet as the old political fox had original planned.
Obasanjo in the same vein had fallen apart with Late President Umaru Yar’Adua before his demise in office for thesame reason of failing to be a surrogate president for the Owu chief.
The former president spoke in a statement on Saturday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, while speaking on the state of the nation and giving his opinion on the election postponement.
He, however, called on politicians in Nigeria to ensure that peace and tranquillity reigned supreme.
While advising Jonathan not to consider the removal of the chairman of the INEC, Professor Attairu Jega, as the decision might truncate the nation’s fledging democracy, Obasanjo alleged that the President of forced the elections postponement on the INEC.
According to him, the situation was designed to make him win by all means possible and if not create chaos and confusion in the country.
The former president, who was the nation’s military leader from 13 February 1976 to 1 October 1979 and a democratically elected president from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007, further expressed pessimism on the possibilities of achieving success in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram by the Nigerian military and other allied forces.
He urged the leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Party (APC) to ensure that the nation’s democracy remains intact.
President Goodluck Jonathan had on Wednesday night dismissed allegations that he had forced the INEC to postpone elections in his interest, saying he was not consulted by the INEC on the postponement of the elections.
Jonathan said reports of plan to remove Professor Attahiru Jega belong to the garbage world.
According to him, the decision by the INEC to postpone the election would enable electorates that had not collected their permanent Voter Cards to do so before the elections.
He also said that there were no plans to send the INEC chairman on compulsory leave before the elections.
“Do not be disturbed by the stories that are not real. The president will not send INEC chairman on leave and bring another person. Those stories belong to the garbage world. Less than 20 per cent of the stories on the social media are credible,” President Jonathan said.
The INEC while announcing the postponement of the elections told reporters that the decision of the commission was not forced by any individual or group.
Professor Jega said the decision was reached after ‘wide-reaching consultations’ with stakeholders.
He said that the decision was based on the advice by the military that it needed time to secure areas in the north-east to enable voters cast their votes in a safe environment.
