Obasanjo Too Busy to Notice Our Achievements – FG

Segun Atanda/

The Federal Government and the All Progressives Congress have responded to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari and the party.

Obasanjo had on Tuesday issued a statement in which he asked Buhari not to seek reelection having failed woefully in the task of nation building.

The former president also called for a coalition to replace the ruling APC and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party as both do not have what it takes to salvage the country.

The FG’s response, signed by Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, noted that the former president might have been too busy to notice the efforts being made by the Buhari administration to revamp the nation’s economy.

The statement described Obasanjo as a patriot and thanked him for acknowledging some of the successes recorded by the Buhari administration.

The statement also listed some of the achievements of the federal government, which the former president failed to acknowledge in his letter.

The FG’s statement reads in part: “We have read the press statement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the State of the Nation.

“For the record, Chief Obasanjo is a patriot, and he has proven this time and time again. We appreciate what he said concerning the Administration’s performance in two out of the three key issues that formed the plank of its campaign: Fighting corruption and tackling insurgency. Specifically, the former President said President Buhari must be given credit for his achievement so far in these two areas. We thank him for this.

“Apparently, the former President believes that the Administration does not deserve a pass mark in the area of the economy, which is the third of our three-pronged campaign promises.

“We have no doubt that in the face of massive challenges in this area, this Administration has availed itself creditably. We believe that Chief Obasanjo, because of his very busy schedule, may not have been fully availed of developments in the government’s efforts to revamp the economy, which was battered by the consequences of over-dependence on a commodity as well as unprecedented pillaging of the treasury.

“Today, most of the indices by which an economy is measured are looking up. Permit me to say, however, that Nigeria would not have exited recession through a mere order or if the Administration had not made use of ‘good Nigerians’ who could help.

“This Administration is making steady progress in its determined effort to revamp the economy, and the results are showing.”

“Finally, we have no reason to believe that former President Obasanjo has any motive beyond the well-being of the nation in issuing his Special Press Statement. We have also taken his admonition in good faith, and we thank him most sincerely for taking time off his busy schedule to pen such a long statement,” the FG added.

On its own part, the APC in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said: “The All Progressives Congress (APC) notes the statement credited to former President Olusegun Obasanjo which has been widely-reported in the media and titled: ‘The Way out: a clarion call for coalition for Nigeria movement.’

“While we do not agree with everything the former president said, especially on his assessment of the government and our party, we note the sundry issues raised by the former president, and we assume these were made in good faith.

“As a father of the nation, we understand that the former president would feel obliged to intervene if certain things are not being done or are not being done in a particular way. However, we believe that such interventions should be for the sole purpose of improving the system and encouraging the relevant institutions to work harder in improving certain situations.

“It is for this reason that we disagree with the former president in what appears like a wholesale dismissal of the entire political system in the country. We acknowledge our challenges as a new political party, even as we believe that APC remains the best option at this time for all Nigerians who are genuinely committed to the progress and development of the country.

“We also note that there are about 72 other registered political parties in the country and the people reserve the right to support any of these. Our democracy itself is young and hence all the parties face sundry challenges, but we have made progress since 1999, with President Obasanjo himself being a major contributor to our progress as a multi-party democracy.

“It is for this reason that we believe the respected former president should not give the impression that none of the political parties in the country is good enough for Nigerians and the only solution to the current challenges that we face is a completely new arrangement.

“The task of building a political party is not done overnight. Even the oldest of our political
parties is still very young in comparison with advanced democracies. Our democracy therefore stands a better chance of becoming really strong if we allow the parties to find their identities, even if in the process they make mistakes and appear to be “wobbling”. No political party arrives fully formed.

“APC call on all our supporters across the country to remain strong and steadfast. These are challenging times. But we cannot afford to react to public criticism with any form of emotionalism. We are the ruling party. We must take responsibility. Take valuable lessons on board and continue to improve. Regardless of the current challenges, we are confident that brighter future is assured for our party and our country.”

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