The presidency has taken a swipe at former President
Olusegun Obasanjo over comments credited to him.
While speaking at the Chinua Achebe leadership forum held at
Yale University in the US, the former president said the 2023 general election
was a “travesty”.
Obasanjo said Nigeria must appoint new, credible leaders for
the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with short tenure to
prevent corruption and re-establish trust in the institution.
But in a statement on Monday, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser
to the president on information and strategy, said Obasanjo left many
unresolved problems for the country, adding that he presided over the most
fraudulent election in Nigeria’s history.
“The beneficiary of the sham election, Umaru Yar’adua, admitted
that the election was seriously flawed and, as Justice Muhammed Uwais’s panel
recommended, worked towards electoral reforms,” the presidential aide said.
“It is hypocrisy writ large when a man who presided over the
worst election in Nigeria demands the sack of the leadership of the Independent
National Electoral Commission.
“The only positive of the Obasanjo era was fiscal and
monetary policy management buoyed by a consistent rise in crude oil prices
throughout his eight-year tenure.
“This rise in crude oil prices started in 2000 and peaked in
2013 when it reached over 100 dollars per barrel before a decline in 2014,
which set the oil-dependent economy downward.
“The current economic crisis the All Progressives Congress
administrations have been battling since 2015 is the product of the poor
choices in economic management made by Obasanjo and the two successors from his
party.”
The presidential aide added that under Obasanjo, there were
no efforts to modernise the military, until the administration of former
President Muhammadu Buhari came on board.
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