The Presidency has slammed former President Olusegun Obasanjo for criticising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to declare a State of Emergency in Rivers State.
Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Olusegun Dada, described Obasanjo as the grandfather of hypocrisy in Nigeria.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday, the former president said “Democracy is not about power grabbing illegally and telling victims to go to court.”
Obasanjo made the remark against the backdrop of Tinubu suspending Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State, his deputy and members of the state of Assembly.
However, Dada accused Obasanjo of turning himself into a kingmaker and a demigod in his second term in office between 2003-2004.
A statement by Dada reads: “Coming to Obasanjo’s remarks at the Ihedioha Colloquium, it is obvious that OBJ is trying every trick possible to whitewash his bad democratic records by trying to exonerate himself from blame for how Nigeria’s democracy has fared.
“It is shocking to many who were adults during the Obasanjo 1999-2007 era to hear OBJ preaching that “Democracy is not about power grabbing illegally and telling victims to go to court. He even said democracy is dying in Nigeria.
“This is the same OBJ that turned himself into a kingmaker and a demigod in his second term in office between 2003-2004. Anybody who disagreed with him became prey.
“Obasanjo is simply the grandfather of hypocrisy in Nigeria at the moment.
“This is an OBJ who worked with his then VP, Atiku Abubakar to steal opposition states for PDP thanks to their job man, Prof. Maurice Iwu who was INEC Chairman. OBJ made sure incumbent governors of Ekiti, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, and Oyo states who all belonged to AD were rigged out using federal might. Only Lagos survived the rigging onslaught.
“Atiku himself later willingly confessed publicly how they spared only Lagos governed by Bola Tinubu in the South West that was formerly controlled by AD as of 1999.”