The Presidency has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of being jealous of the achievements of President Bola Tinubu for doing what he failed to do as the leader of Nigeria.
In a statement issued via X on Thursday by President Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun said Obasanjo parades himself as a self-righteous man who understands all the problems of Nigeria and knows the solution.
Olusegun further accused Obasanjo of failing to address the needs of the country when he had the opportunity to do so but instead chose to waste the nation’s resources.
New Telegraph reports that the position of the presidency follows Obasanjo’s recent open criticism of President Tinubu’s ₦15.6 trillion spent on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project.
Obasanjo described the project as a misplaced priority.
In chapter six of his new book, ‘Nigeria: Past and Future’ unveiled to mark his 88th birthday last week, Obasanjo described the Lagos-Calabar Coastal highway project as wasteful, corrupt and a misplaced priority.
In response, the presidency said President Tinubu would not be distracted, adding that Obasanjo must explain to Nigerians why he failed to transform Nigeria into a proper country during his time in power despite the abundance of resources at his disposal.
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The statement reads; “While it is common for many elder statesmen to write books aimed at sanctifying their days as the leader of the country despite obvious flaws, another elder statesman, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has just published a memoir containing claims that would further relegate his integrity.
“As the leader who opened Nigeria to the canker worms of corruption by neglecting important projects that could have changed the trajectory of this country if he had focused on what mattered in his days.
“By underplaying the importance of the Lagos-Calabar project in his latest book, President OBJ has not only affirmed to those who witnessed his administration’s several failures to address the needs of the country when he had the opportunity,
“But he has also put in written form, a position which generations to come will indeed question when the road that will end up as one of the most significant endeavours of any Federal Government in the history of the country, finally becomes a reality.
“Despite spending 8 years in government and failing in his attempt to force himself on Nigerians for a further four years as President, Baba Obasanjo failed woefully in addressing the infrastructural needs of his state; indeed, it took former President Buhari just three years to deliver the first modern rail to pass through baba’s backyard in Abeokuta.
“The Lagos-Ibadan expressway was southwest and indeed one of Nigeria’s most important road projects in recent times, both baba and the PDP spent 16 years without getting the project beyond 30% completion until Buhari happened.
“What about the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway that has now been inherited by Governor Abiodun in 2024 because the President who hailed from the state failed to make it a reality despite having all the power and goodwill to do so?
“Should we delve into the corruption that brought Nigeria’s power sector to its knees despite the claims of spending billions of dollars to fix the same under his administration? Or his failure to revive our refineries, killing our steel industry and fraudulent privatization of NITEL, among others?
“President Obasanjo must emulate others before him by returning to his writing board to at least attempt to explain to Nigerians why he failed to help Nigeria transition into a proper country under his leadership despite emerging at a time when the goodwill was at an all-time high compared to these days when President Tinubu now has to take all the decisions they failed to take.”
