On Friday it seemed that plans for a peace move by the Peoples Democratic Party and President Goodluck Jonathan have once again been avoided by former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
Punch reports that during Jonathan’s Friday visit to Ogun state he had also scheduled to meet the leadership of the PDP.
Obasanjo is said to have got wind of the visit and travelled on Thursday to Gambia.
It is uncertain if Obasanjo’s trip to Gambia was planned or just on the spur of the moment.
Punch investigations showed that Obasanjo was scheduled to be part of the closed door meeting Jonathan had with some Ogun traditional rulers on Friday, but was out of the country.
One aide to Obasanjo said that the major problem the former president had with Jonathan and the PDP was the promotion of a chieftain of the party, Buruji Kashamu.
“I can tell you authoritatively that Baba’s (Obasanjo) problem with the President and the PDP is the promotion of Kashamu,” he said.
In 2014, the aide recalled, Obasanjo had written to the PDP Chairman, Dr Bamanga Tukur, complaining about Kashamu’s membership of the party.
Obasanjo had written that he would cease to be a member of the party by withdrawing from its activities because Kahamu had been installed as a party leader.
“I will consider withdrawing my activity with PDP at local, state, zonal and national levels until the anomalous and shameful situation is corrected,” he had said.
The aide said that rather than try to resolve the issue, the PDP appointed Kashamu as the chairman of its Mobilisation Committee in the southwest.
Kashamu recently got the PDP’s senatorial ticket for the Ogun-East Senatorial District.
The Jigawa state governor, Sule Lamido, and the PDP national chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, had on Wednesday met in Abuja as part of efforts to convince Obasanjo to return to the ruling party.
Another presidential aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that the former president because of his annoyance with President Jonathan deliberately decided to travel out of Abeokuta to avoid meeting him on Friday.
“You can see that he deliberately avoided the President, who he even almost single-handedly made President. That’s not good enough,” he added.
The national publicity secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh said the party had not foreclosed on reconciliation with the former president.
Metuh told our correspondent that the party would find a way of appeasing him.
Metuh said, “The former President remains a revered member of our party; he is a statesman who led our party to two victories consecutively.
“Because of our respect for him having been the chairman of our BoT and a former President, we won’t allow him leave us like that.
“We agree with Lamido that we should not allow him leave like that. We will do everything within our power to bring him back.
“We still believe that he would work for our Presidential candidate and all other candidates of the party during the forthcoming elections.”
Asked how the party would go about it, Metuh merely said that “we would do everything within our democratic rights to bring Baba back to the PDP.”
Obasanjo on Monday, February 16, left the PDP and told the party chairman in Ward 11, Abeokuta North, Usman Oladunjoye, to tear up his membership card.
Punch reports that during Jonathan’s Friday visit to Ogun state he had also scheduled to meet the leadership of the PDP.
Obasanjo Vs Jonathan
It is uncertain if Obasanjo’s trip to Gambia was planned or just on the spur of the moment.
Punch investigations showed that Obasanjo was scheduled to be part of the closed door meeting Jonathan had with some Ogun traditional rulers on Friday, but was out of the country.
One aide to Obasanjo said that the major problem the former president had with Jonathan and the PDP was the promotion of a chieftain of the party, Buruji Kashamu.
“I can tell you authoritatively that Baba’s (Obasanjo) problem with the President and the PDP is the promotion of Kashamu,” he said.
In 2014, the aide recalled, Obasanjo had written to the PDP Chairman, Dr Bamanga Tukur, complaining about Kashamu’s membership of the party.
Obasanjo had written that he would cease to be a member of the party by withdrawing from its activities because Kahamu had been installed as a party leader.
“I will consider withdrawing my activity with PDP at local, state, zonal and national levels until the anomalous and shameful situation is corrected,” he had said.
The aide said that rather than try to resolve the issue, the PDP appointed Kashamu as the chairman of its Mobilisation Committee in the southwest.
Kashamu recently got the PDP’s senatorial ticket for the Ogun-East Senatorial District.
The Jigawa state governor, Sule Lamido, and the PDP national chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, had on Wednesday met in Abuja as part of efforts to convince Obasanjo to return to the ruling party.
Another presidential aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that the former president because of his annoyance with President Jonathan deliberately decided to travel out of Abeokuta to avoid meeting him on Friday.
“You can see that he deliberately avoided the President, who he even almost single-handedly made President. That’s not good enough,” he added.
The national publicity secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh said the party had not foreclosed on reconciliation with the former president.
Metuh told our correspondent that the party would find a way of appeasing him.
Metuh said, “The former President remains a revered member of our party; he is a statesman who led our party to two victories consecutively.
“Because of our respect for him having been the chairman of our BoT and a former President, we won’t allow him leave us like that.
“We agree with Lamido that we should not allow him leave like that. We will do everything within our power to bring him back.
“We still believe that he would work for our Presidential candidate and all other candidates of the party during the forthcoming elections.”
Asked how the party would go about it, Metuh merely said that “we would do everything within our democratic rights to bring Baba back to the PDP.”
Obasanjo on Monday, February 16, left the PDP and told the party chairman in Ward 11, Abeokuta North, Usman Oladunjoye, to tear up his membership card.
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