Obasanjo entitled to his opinion, says PDP after he endorses Buhari

ABUJA—Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential Campaign Organisation, PDPPCO, reacted, yesterday, to former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), saying he was entitled to his views as an individual.

Answering questions from journalists in Abuja yesterday, Director, Media and Publicity of PDPPCO, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode told former President Obasanjo and other supporters of Buhari that they would all meet on the field on March 28 for the presidential election.

Fani-Kayode, who noted that it was unfortunate for Obasanjo to support the former Head of State, said that the election would be about one man, one vote, adding that the former President, like every other Nigerian, was entitled to one vote.

He said: “I have not seen what he said or read his text. He is entitled to his views. He is a leading member of our party and we have great respect for him. I believe it will be a very sad day indeed if from what he knows about Buhari, he still goes ahead to endorse him.

“This is about vote: about one man, one vote. But, we wish him well if he did so. We will meet them on the field.”

Ignore OBJ—FAYOSE

In his reaction, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State asked Nigerians to ignore Chief Obasanjo for endorsing Buhari.

Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, in Ado Ekiti yesterday, Fayose said people should not take Obasanjo serious because of his antecedent as a man who has a penchant for deceiving people for his own political selfish end.

His words: “Obasanjo represents failure branding a failed project to plunge the country into another political crisis. Leaving President Jonathan and voting for Buhari is like leaving the road and entering the bush.”

He noted that Obasanjo had been consistently defeated by opposition parties in his place of birth and his ward and maintained that the former president was more of a liability.

Endorsement meaningless—OBANIKORO

Also, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro dismissed the endorsement.

Obanikoro, in a series of tweets on his Twitter handle, said: “Obasanjo’s endorsement of Buhari is meaningless in Yorubaland and should be treated as such across Nigeria.”

Obasanjo was, yesterday, reported to have declared his support for Buhari.

Obasanjo spoke to Financial Times at the launch of his autobiography entitled My Watch, in Nairobi, Kenya.

He said: “The circumstances he (Buhari) will be working under, if he wins the elections, are different from the one he worked under before where he was both the executive and the legislature— he knows that.

“He is smart enough. He is educated enough. He is experienced enough. Why shouldn’t I support him?”