EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan In Telephone Conversation With Obasanjo, Pleads With Ex-President To Rethink Decision On Quitting PDP [PREMIUM TIMES]
Category:Nigerian National News
In what maybe considered as a major step towards mending the fence of
their broken relationship, Information Nigeria has learnt that President
Goodluck Jonathan has telephoned former President Olusegun Obasanjo to
dissuade him from going ahead with his decision to quit the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), just as he reportedly denied responsibility for
elevating a controversial member of the party and subject of Obasanjo’s
latest grouse, Prince Buruji Kashamu, as an influential party leader in the south-west geo-political zone.
According to sources close to the former president, who spoke with
PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday, Mr. Obasanjo was travelling in Addis Ababa,
the Ethiopian capital, at the time of the conversation with Mr.
Jonathan.
It was gathered from usually reliable presidency sources that Mr.
Jonathan hurriedly called the former president on Thursday shortly after
he received the former president’s latest letter informing him and the
PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, that he was suspending
participation in party activities for as long as the ruling party
continued to treat Mr. Kashamu, who he described as a “known habitual
criminal” and fugitive of the law abroad, with reverence.
The sources said during the telephone conversation, President
Jonathan pleaded with Mr. Obasanjo to reconsider his decision to suspend
himself from the party, assuring him that he would personally prevail
on Tukur to stop fraternizing with Mr. Kashamu and foisting him on the
South-West PDP as a rallying point.
The president, the sources further adds, told the former president
that he had never met Mr. Kashamu in person and had never instructed
anyone to accord the controversial politician, considered to be the
sole-financier of PDP in Ogun State, a special or preferential
treatment in the party.
According to the sources, Jonathan was quoted as saying, “Baba,
believe me, I don’t know Kashamu… I think it is the chairman (Tukur)
that knows him. Personally, I have nothing with him. But I will ask
chairman.
“Kindly consider your decision again. The PDP belongs to us all and we need to correct whatever is wrong together”.
The president then promised to “hear from” Mr Tukur, and to “do
something” about the matter, those in the known of the discussion said.
In his response, Mr. Obasanjo is said to have explained to the
president his pain at explaining to world leaders how an alleged
criminal, wanted by the United States authorities, ended up as a leader
of Nigeria’s ruling party.
He reportedly also told the president that his assurance of action
might not count much as he believed not much could be done as of now.
As at the time of compiling this report, the Special Adviser to the
President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati could not be reached for
comment as calls put through to his phone was not connecting.
But three separate presidential aides, who pleaded anonymity because
they were not authorized to speak on the matter, however, confirmed
details of the conversation between both leaders.
When contacted to get his reaction to the story, the spokesperson for
the former president, Tunde Oladunjoye, said he had no permission from
his boss to speak on details of his conversation with anyone.
An aide of the former president however confirmed the exchanges.
It would be recalled that in a letter dated January 7 and addressed
to the PDP national chairman with a copy sent to the president, Mr.
Obasanjo said he found “unsavoury”, the elevation of Kashamu as a
political leader in what he called “a respectable and wholesome
nation-building political party” as the PDP and informed them of his
decision to withdraw his activity with the party at all levels “until
the anomalous and shameful situation is corrected”.
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