Presidency dubs Obasanjo's letter malicious, disrespectful

The Presidency on Wednesday reacted angrily to the letter by  former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan, which was leaked to the press.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati,in a statement in Abuja dubbed the action of the former president as unbecoming and provocative.

Abati, who acknowledged the receipt of the Obasanjo's letter by President Jonathan,  lambasted him for 'deliberate leakage' to the mass media.

He said the leakage was a deplorable effort to 'impugn the integrity of President Jonathan and denigrate his commitment to giving Nigeria the best possible leadership,' adding that 'many patriotic, objective and well-meaning Nigerians have already condemned the leaked letter as self-serving, hypocritical, malicious and very disrespectful of the highest office in the land.'

According to Abati,  the President has directed that none of his aides or any government official should join issues with Obasanjo over it.

He said the president himself would, at the appropriate time, offer a full personal response to the charges levelled against him and his administration by the former president.

In the controversial 18-page letter obtained by an online publication, Obasanjo said that 'Nigeria is bleeding and the hemorrhage must be stopped.'

He said that Jonathan failed to deliver on his promises to the Nigerian people, stem corruption, promote national unity and strengthen national security.

In the letter titled  'Before it is too late,' Obasanjo accused Jonathan of misguiding the ship of th nation by listening to sectional advisers.

He said that rather than take steps to advance Nigeria's interest and up the standards of living of Nigerians, Jonathan had betrayed God and the Nigerian people that brought him to power, and has been pursuing selfish personal and political interests based on advice he receives from 'self-centred aides'.

Obasanjo lamented that Jonathan had become terribly divisive and clannish, destroying his own party, polarizing the country along regional and religious lines and ridiculing Nigeria in the comity of nations.

He blamed President Jonathan for the crises tearing the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, apart, adding that apart from using party chairman Bamanga Tukur to cause multiple crises and divide the ranks of the party, the president's failure to keep a promise he made not to seek a second term is also generating tension within the ruling party.

'It would be unfair to continue to level full blames on the Chairman (Tukur) for all that goes wrong with the party,' Obasanjo said, noting that 'The chairman is playing the tune dictated by the paymaster (Jonathan). But the paymaster is acting for a definitive purpose for which deceit and deception seem to be the major ingredients.

'Up till two months ago, Mr. President, you told me that you have not told anybody that you would contest in 2015. I quickly pointed out to you that the signs and the measures on the ground do not tally with your statement. You said the same to one other person who shared his observation with me. And only a fool would believe that statement you made to me judging by what is going on. I must say it is not ingenious. You may wish to pursue a more credible and more honorable path,' Obasanjo had said.

The former President said Jonathan told him before the 2011 election that he would not seek a second term, and made the same promise to governors, party stakeholders and Nigerians, insisting that 'the president's refusal to keep that promise cast him as a man without honour.'

Obasanjo said that it would be 'fatally morally flawed' for  Jonathan to contest in 2015, adding that 'As a leader, two things you must cherish and hold dear among others are trust and honour both of which are important ingredients of character. I will want to see anyone in the Office of the Presidency of Nigeria as a man or woman who can be trusted, a person of honour in his words and character.'

Obasanjo also accused the President for failing to address the underlying causes of the Boko Haram menace and urged him to adopt a carrot and stick approach in dealing with the insurgency explaining that 'conventional military actions based on standard phases of military operations alone will not permanently and effectively deal with the issue of Boko Haram'.

Read the statement by the president's spokesperson, Reuben Abati,  below.