The Presidency on Friday knocked former President Olusegun Obasanjo over his recent call for the restructuring of the country and the creation of state police to tackle the worsening security situation in Nigeria.
Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, said though Obasanjo had the opportunity to restructure Nigeria and create state police while in government for eight years, he failed to do so.
Adesina spoke on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ programme monitored by The PUNCH.
Obasanjo, 85, was Nigeria’s democratically elected President between 1999 and 2007. He was previously Nigeria’s Military Head of State from February 1976 to October 1979.
Obasanjo on Wednesday said, “Our situation in Nigeria concerns everyone, particularly the case of terrorism. The case has gotten over the issue of community police. It is now state police. It is from that state police that we can now be talking about community police.”
But Adesina said though pan Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, agitated for restructuring and state police under Obasanjo, the former military head of state never actualise any of the two demands.
The presidential spokesman said, “Former President Obasanjo has a right to hold a different opinion from what he held in the past but I recalled that under him, restructuring of the Federation was a key issue that Afenifere fought for and then there was the issue of state police which was resonated under him. He didn’t do anything under eight years.
“He has a right to change his mind now but it does not remove the fact that he had the opportunity to have done something about those issues then and he didn’t.”
Adesina added that his principal, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has given the National Assembly the needed support to amend the 1999 Constitution to reflect the demands of the people.
He also said Buhari won’t suspend the 2023 general elections and install an interim government as demanded by a legal luminary, Afe Babalola (SAN) because the constitution has no room for that.
