Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Elder statesman and Former president of the federal republic of Nigeria has denied that he warned President Muhammadu Buhari against seeking re-election in 2019. The former President was reacting to an online report credited to Chief Alex Nwokedi,his former chief press secretary on Saturday.He stated that the report is completely false, destructive and a figment of the imagination of chief Nwokedi.
According to a statement issued in Abeokuta on Sunday by Kehinde Akinyemi, media aide to Obasanjo, there has been no communication between Obasanjo and Nwokedi in the last three years, and wondered why any news would be attributed to him, as published by the on-line publication. The statement stated, “My belief is that democracy allowed for anybody including President Buhari for that matter to contest any election and it is the prerogative rights of Nigerians to vote or not to vote for them. “I have not communicated with Alex in the last three years, so how could a story be credited to me, when I did not authorize such or communicate with him in the last three years?
The former President futher said, “not even me, can advise my children not to seek for elective post. It is part of freedom of democracy. “I condemn in the most highest manner the story and those behind it. And for those behind it, they are simply enemies of democracy and freedom of expression.”
President Obasanjo however, reiterated his commitment to the peace and progress of Nigeria’s democratic development, which he said would usher relief with patience and understanding of the country’s masses.