FORMER President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has come under criticism from the All Progressives Congress (APC) for his treatment of Oyo traditional rulers in a recent event.
In an event hosted by Governor Seyi Makinde at Iseyin, Oyo state, on Friday, the ex President is reported to have blasted the rulers for not rising to their feet upon observing himself and the Governor approaching the venue.
The ex Head of State subsequently asked all the traditional rulers sitted to immediately rise to their feet in show of respect to he and Makinde.
This move has not gone down well with the ruling APC.
In a statement issued at the weekend in Ibadan by the Oyo state APC Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, the party held that the act by Obasanjo was premeditated and done in retaliation to those who did not support his choice of Labour Party (LP)’s Peter Obi for President, rather than the party’s President Bola Tinubu.
“It is evident that Chief Obasanjo used the avenue of his questionable invitation to the road project commissioning to get back at certain individuals who openly rejected his presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the build-up to the last general election.
“We recall that one of the monarchs on seat appeared on some private radio stations during the electioneering and mobilised support for Tinubu who won the election eventually. This did not go down well with the former president who is popular for his vindictiveness and he used the opportunity handed down to him by one of his loyalists (Gov. Makinde) to hit back at his target.
“Meanwhile, we condemn in strong terms the conduct of Chief Obasanjo who threw decorum into the wind on account of being a former president and chose to desecrate the rich culture and traditions of the Yoruba people.
“By assaulting the monarchs, who were at the occasion on invitation, the Owu-born former military dictator had shown to the world that he was not worth his status as a statesman, title chief, and leader on the African continent.
“It is on record that despite ruling Nigeria for a combined period of 12 years, Obasanjo did not make a significant impact on the lives of the people of Oyo state as the best he did (and still does) was removing an elected governor of the state and refusing to add value in the areas of infrastructure, wealth creation and empowerment of our people.
“So, the good people of the Pacesetter State do not hold him in high esteem and they expect little or nothing from him even if has another opportunity to become president again in the future.
“However, there is a pertinent question begging for answer regarding the choice of Obasanjo as the chairman of the occasion at the instance of Gov. Makinde.
“The simple truth is that the whole scenario has further exposed the hypocrisy in Gov. Makinde who has done everything possible to claim the glory of President Bola Tinubu’s victory in Oyo in the February 25 presidential election.
“How can you be loyal to two opposing characters in a political contest at the same time? It is obvious, Obasanjo is anti-Tinubu and Makinde is also pro-Obasanjo while we watch keenly as the governor continues his tricky game in the political space,” the party’s statement read.
