I’ve not anointed Lamido, Amaechi for 2015 –Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said he is not thinking of 2015 elections now.

He, therefore, said there was no iota of truth in the speculations that he was throwing up someone as presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

A statement by a Media Adviser, Mr. Garba Muhammad, said the former President was not throwing up the Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, as a presidential aspirant and the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, as his (Lamido) running mate as being speculated.

The statement read, “Former President Obasanjo wishes to state that these media reports are not true. Far from thinking or planning for the 2015 elections, the former President is deeply concerned with more pressing national issues.

“However, the former President does recognise the rights and privileges of any Nigerian to vie for any elective office of his or her choice.”

This, he said, applies to Lamido and Amaechi and other Nigerians.

He said at the end, the political party to which aspirants belong would determine who bears its flag.

The former President, therefore, enjoined all Nigerians to be mindful of the present challenges facing the country and try to contribute their quota towards finding a lasting solution to them, rather than speculating on an election he said was still several years away.

Obasanjo also berated a former Governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Lam Adesina, who he said criticised the efforts of his administration in fighting corruption.

In a recent interview with some newsmen, Adesina was reported to have described Obasanjo’s battle against corruption as deceitful.

The former governor specifically cited the issue of the contract for the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to support his claims.

But Obasanjo said it was sad that at his age, Adesina would make statements that he said could “ridicule him and make nonsense of his elderly status.”

He said, “It is self-evident that no government after former President Obasanjo had fought corruption with the same commitment as his administration.

“It is equally self-evident that the institutions for fighting corruption that the country relies on today were set up by the Obasanjo administration, likewise some of the individuals manning those institutions today were nurtured by the same Obasanjo administration that Adesina so mischievously described as ‘deceitful’.

“Adesina’s attribution of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway contract to the Obasanjo administration shows how puerile or perhaps how senile the former governor has become.

“The contract in question was not awarded by the Obasanjo administration. It was in fact awarded after Chief Obasanjo had left office.”