A former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Wednesday, distanced himself from a purported report trending on social media that he had made a U-turn on his verdict of non-performance and had declared support for President Muhammadu Buhari.
He dissociated himself from the report through a statement issued on his behalf by his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, in Abeokuta, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent.
Obasanjo had ascribed the social media report to some elements in Buhari’s camp or his support group that were desperate to secure a second term for their principal, through fair or foul means.
While he further described their action as libelous, Obasanjo lamented that instead of addressing the fundamental issues of statecraft and economy, they were engaging in spreading falsehoods.
Obasanjo also said he never met any labour leader in Abuja on Workers Day, as he described such insinuation as a fallacy.
The statement read in part “It has come to the attention of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that some elements in the Muhammadu Buhari camp and or support group are desperate to secure a second term, fair or foul.
“In this desperation, everything is fair, including telling libelous lies against persons and institutions, instead of addressing the fundamental issues of statecraft and economic management.
“In the last 24 hours, the Internet has been bombarded with deliberate falsehoods aimed at hoodwinking the unsuspecting Nigerians to believe that Obasanjo has now supported Buhari for his second term, because of some perceived Buhari’s ‘superlative’ performance in his encounter with Trump during his visit to the White House in Washington D. C.
“In another breath, these blackmailers insinuated that Chief Obasanjo met with some Nigeria Labour Congress leaders in his house in Abuja on Workers’ Day.
“What a pathetic fallacy! Chief Obasanjo never met any Labour man or woman on May 1, 2018, to make any supposed volte-face to support Buhari.”
