Presidency Slams Obasanjo, Says He’s Attacking Buhari ‘Out Of Frustration’

The Presidency has lashed out at former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his recent remarks against current President Muhammadu Buhari, stating that they were motivated "out of frustration."

The Presidential office issued a statement Monday in response to Obasanjo's comments describing President Buhari's seven years in office as "horrible" and "hell on earth" for Nigerians, Punch reported.

In the statement titled, "Morally Squalid Obasanjo Attacks Leaders Out Of Frustration," Mallam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, said the attitude of the former president toward Buhari was selfish and bordering on "moral squalor."

"As we said sometime back, Mr. Obasanjo's tenure, 1999-2007, represented the dark days of Nigeria's democracy due to a slew of assaults on the constitution," Shehu said, as reported by The Cable.

The Presidential office also noted Obasanjo's jealousy and frustration-driven attacks on Buhari were because the ongoing president surpassed his records - something that displeased the former, who considered himself Nigeria's best leader.

The development came in response to Obasanjo's letter to Nigerians on New Year's Day in which he endorsed the Labour Party (LP) candidate Peter Obi for the Feb. 25 election. In the letter, Obasanjo criticized President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing him of nepotism and promoting division along the country's fault lines.

The Former President, who was in charge of the country between 1999 and 2007, claimed that the last seven and a half years of the Buhari administration have been stressful for many Nigerians, adding that during this period, Nigeria moved "from frying pan to fire."

"The last seven and a half years have no doubt been eventful and stressful years for many Nigerians. We have moved from frying pan to fire and from the mountain top to the valley. Our leaders have done their best, but their best had turned out to be not the best for Nigeria and Nigerians at home and abroad. For most Nigerians, it was hell on earth," Obasanjo wrote in the letter.

Responding to these remarks, Shehu said Buhari is ahead of Obasanjo in all areas of national development.

"President Buhari is ahead of Chief Obasanjo in all fields of national development and to do that is a cardinal sin to Obasanjo whose hallucinations tell him that he is the best to lead Nigeria and there will never be another one better than him," the statement added, as per The Nation.

The Presidency further boasted that Buhari's principal has won several awards and accolades for not trying to serve more than two terms in office, as the Constitution allows. It further accused the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria and Delta Steel of being sold for well below their market prices during the Obasanjo administration.

"As an insight, the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria, which was set up with $3.2bn, was sold to a Russian firm, Russal, for a paltry $130m. Delta Steel, which was set up in 2005, for $1.5bn, was sold to Global Infrastructure for just $30m. ALSCON got back $120m for the dredging of the Imo River, which was never carried out," the statement added in part.