By Sharon Osaji
A Twitter user Hally Ramzy has blasted the presidency for saying that the President, Major Gnereal Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is ahead of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in all ramifications.
Following Obasanjo’s endorsement of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as his choice candidate for president ahead of the forthcoming polls in February, the presidency, the ruling All Progressives Party and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party had come heavily for the ex-president.
However the Twitter user, who shared a graph of the performance of Nigeria presidents from 1999 to 2021 based on Nigeria’s annual GDP growth rate, and tagging the World Bank as the source of the data shared, said Buhari is only ahead of Obasanjo in “backwardness.”
The data shared from the graph rated Obasanjo as the highest performing president in terms of GDP with the highest rate at 15.33% in 2022, while Buhari was rated the least performing with 0.81% in 2017 and 3.35% in 2021.
Captioning the graph the Twitter user wrote, “Bashir said Buhari is far ahead of Obasanjo in every aspect, this is proof that Buhari is truly far ahead in backwardness in every aspect. Datas don’t lie. Nigerians it’s very clear, VOTE WISELY.”
The Twitter user was responding to a tweet from the Special Assistant on Digital Communications to the President, Bashir Ahmed, who wrote on Monday that, “President Buhari is ahead of Chief Obasanjo in all fields of national development and to do that is cardinal sin to Obasanjo whose hallucinations tell him that he is the best ever to lead Nigeria and there will never be another one better than him. – The Presidency.”
The PUNCH reported on Sunday that Obasanjo in a letter to Nigerians endorsed Obi as his choice candidate for president ahead of the 2023 presidential election in February.
In the 2023 New Year message signed by the former President and made available to newsmen by his aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, Obasanjo described Obi as his mentee and said the former Anambra State governor had an edge in the 2023 elections.
Obasanjo said, “None of the contestants is a saint but when one compares their character, antecedent, their understanding, knowledge, discipline, and vitality that they can bring to bear and the great efforts required to stay focused on the job, particularly looking at where the country is today and with the experience on the job that I personally had, Peter Obi as a mentee has an edge.
“Others like all of us have what they can collectively contribute to the new dispensation to liberation, restoration and salvaging of Nigeria.
“One other important point to make about Peter is that he is a needle with thread attached to it from North and South and he may not get lost.
“In other words, he has people who can pull his ears, if and when necessary. He has a young and able running mate with a clean track record of achievement both in public and private life.”
The ruling All Progressives Party and opposition Peoples Democratic Party have strongly protested against Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi, who assumed power as President under the PDP.
The PUNCH reported that the APC and PDP both claimed that Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi would have no electoral value at the forthcoming polls.
Responding to Obasanjo’s lengthy message, the Director, Media and Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu, would not lose sleep over the endorsement of his Labour Party counterpart by the former president.
While in a telephone conversation with The PUNCH, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba said, “What is important is the endorsement of the Nigerian people. The endorsement of an individual no matter how highly placed does not translate to victory at the polls.
Source: The Punch
