Obasanjo defends Atiku, attacks Buhari again

Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo has defended his former vice, who is now the presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, saying no Nigerian vice president acted in the stead of his principal as much as Abubakar.

Obasanjo who spoke as the guest speaker at the Island Club Quarterly Business Lecture, which held Wednesday in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, stated that, contrary to popular belief, Abubakar presided over several Federal Executive Council meetings under his 1999-2007 administration.

According to Obasanjo, one of the most ridiculous claims he has heard is that he did not trust Atiku.

“That is not true because he had occasion to preside a few times that I was out of the country on duty. On those occasions, he was in charge of the FEC meetings and no Nigerian chief executive has devolved to his deputy as much as I did to Atiku.

“I did not need to designate him ‘acting president’ because the constitution is clear; once the president is not available, the vice president automatically acts with full powers, and he consults when and if he considers it necessary.

“But since I was not absent from home for 104 days at a time, people may not know that Atiku actually stood in for me whenever I was out (of the country).

“You have a man who has what it takes in experience, exposure, lessons that he has learnt and he has learnt his lessons. I tried to teach him a few of them. You have a man who has what it takes at this time for us to have a change and we need a change for the better,” Obasanjo said.

Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has attacked President Muhammadu Buhari again, saying he never spent 104 consecutive days on medical vacation outside the country like the president did.

The former president also took a swipe at President Muhammadu Buhari, saying he never spent 104 consecutive days on medical vacation outside the country like the president did.