OBJ to PDP leaders: Nothing will bring me back to partisan politics
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has vowed never to return to partisan politics again.
Obasanjo, 84, made this known when a delegation of the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, visited him at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
This is coming as Ayu has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as a clueless government that is piling eternal debts for future generations.
The PDP delegation during the meeting, held behind closed doors, dwelt extensively on the party’s search for a suitable presidential candidate, who will wrestle power from the APC.
The National Secretary of the party, Senator Sam Anyanwu; the Deputy National Chairman, South and former Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Mr Taofeek Arapaja; other members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and the PDP vice presidential candidate in 2019 elections, Mr, Peter Obi, were part of the delegation.
The delegation also includes a former governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; a former governor of Jigawa State, Mr. Sule Lamido; and two former governors of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, Senator Liyel Imoke; former Police Affairs Minister, Adamu Waziri, and former Minister of Special Duties, Tanimu Kabiru Turaki (SAN), were also among the PDP chieftains in attendance.
A source privy to the meeting told THISDAY that the PDP leaders sought Obasanjo’s contribution to the issue of zoning and the search for a formidable presidential candidate.
“The visit was part of the wider consultations embarked upon by the PDP to strategise for the 2023 general election, especially the presidential election. They had fruitful discussions on the issue of zoning and the need to search for a suitable and credible presidential candidate,” the source said.
However, after the closed-door meeting, Obasanjo publicly told his guests to bear in mind that he was no longer in partisan politics.
Recall that the former president had some years ago publicly announced that he was quitting politics, and tearing his PDP membership card in his house in Abeokuta.
But speaking yesterday, Obasanjo said: “I have been with the party right from inception. Whatever I do in my own life, because I became president on the platform of PDP, PDP will continue to be part of the history of my life.
“But having said that, the day that in my ward I decided to tear my PDP card was the day I ceased to be a member of PDP and that day I vowed that I will not be a member of any political party again, but I will remain a statesman in Nigeria, in West Africa, in Africa and indeed in the world.”
The former president, who said the responsibilities on the shoulder of Ayu, were enormous, prayed that he would be able to carry them.
Follow us on social media
