Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has failed in all fronts and warned Nigerians to reject the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) in the forthcoming general elections.
Obasanjo accused the government and the party of bringing hardship on Nigerians and running ineffective economic policy which cripples businesses and causes economic woes.
Obasanjo said it would be foolhardy for Nigerians to reinforce failure by re-electing the APC and President Buhari in 2019.
Speaking in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital during a consultation visit of New Nigeria 2019 Group led by Chima Anyaso, Convener and Moses Siasia, Co-Convener, Obasanjo advised Nigerians to join hands and do away with bad government and governance brought by the ruling party, adding that people should not also accept the apology tendered by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) just as he reiterated that neither APC nor PDP could get Nigeria and Nigerians out of her current situation.
He said, “I have publicly said and I mean it that neither PDP nor APC can get us there. Yet we have to get there. I asked one of the foundation members of PDP, the PDP when we started, was it a grassroots party? He said it was an elitist party. Really, we have never had the so-called grassroots party. Even NEPU which we could say is the nearest was not grassroot enough. And I believe strongly that we must have a strong popular grassroots movement to bring about the change, sustainability and stability that we need in our democracy and development.
Obasanjo said, “What we have now is failure. Never you reinforce failure, let failure be failure… Those of you who are in business, your business could have been better today if we have a competent and effective and performing government.”
The Presidency has responded to the statement made by Obasanjo who described President Buhari’s government as a failure.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said the former president has not said anything new and President Buhari’s administration will not join issues with Obasanjo.
Adesina said a statement issued by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in response to the earlier criticism by Obasanjo had addressed the issues raised.
He said the present administration will continue to make reference to the failures of the past administration, although they do not see it as complaining about the challenges of the country as highlighted by Obasanjo.
