The former president had Monday announced his resignation as a member of the party on whose platform he ruled the country between 1999 and 2007.
Mr. Obasanjo renounced his membership of the PDP when some leaders of the party led by Surajudeen Oladunjoye, the chairman of the ward around his former residence in Ita Eko, visited him at his Presidential Hilltop mansion in Abeokuta home.
The former president directed Mr. Oladunjoye to tear his membership card at a press conference organised during the visit.
About two hours later, the PDP leadership in Ogun State announced the expulsion of the former president from the party.
However, Mr. Obasanjo has explained that the PDP members visited him to express their genuine concern about his refusal to be active in the party.
“They were concerned that I had only one leg in the party, and worried that since I’m their leader in the ward, they need to hear from me,” the former President said.
According to him, when the party members arrived his residence, they were singing a song in Yoruba language – “Nigeria yi ti gbobgo wa ni, Ko ma gbodo ba je. Eje ka sowopo kajo gbega (Meaning – Nigeria belongs to all of us, we must not allow it to be destroyed and we must join hands to make it great).
Mr. Obasanjo said when they settled down he sought to know why they came and that it was at that point that Mr. Oladunjoye told him that since he (Obasanjo) as their leader became angry with the PDP and remained inactive in the party, they had not only lost sense of direction but also worried about their political future.
He also said the party members informed him that the leadership in the state was planning to expel him and that they wondered what would happen to them if he was expelled because they would become rudderless.
“You are our leader and it is you we are following. You have remained a card-carrying member of the the party. But since you became angry with the party we have lost sense of direction and now we are hearing that they want to expel you. If they expel you, where do we go? What do we do?” Mr. Obasanjo quoted the ward chairman as saying.
The former president explained that it was at that point that he gave them his PDP membership card and told them that they could do whatever they want with it.
He said, “In my response, I said when you people came you were singing a song and I agreed that Nigeria is our own. If the issue is the party, I will not choose the party at the detriment of Nigeria and I will fight for Nigeria even at the detriment of the party. I will rather surrender my membership of the party so you people can move on politically,” Mr. Obasanjo explained to PREMIUM TIMES.
“If you people’s worry is that I’m a card-carrying member of the party and I’m not showing you people direction and you are worried that I’m neither here nor there, this is the card; you can keep it, you can burn it or you can tear it, do whatever you want to do with it.”
The former president said he then handed over his membership card to Mr. Oladunjoye, who immediately decided on his own to shred it.
Mr. Obasanjo said he had no regrets for his action despite the criticisms that have greeted it. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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GOOD BABA OBJ, THEY WILL SEE THE IMPLICATIONS!!!
ReplyDeleteYes. He is not God but remember that 1) he was instrumental in picking GEJ as Vice to Late Yar Adua, 2) he gave support for Yar Adua-GEJ to win the then election, 3) he revealed the state of health of the late president to Nigerians which made it easy for GEJ to assume the present position, 4) he stood by GEJ in the last elections etc. Although he may have his shortcomings he has played vital roles in helping GEJ and PDP. PDP should have dialogued with him (although not begging him), and stop this loss of members as if those members who are leaving the party don't matter to anything. This has strengthened the opposition party, and now, both PDP and GEJ are panicking. All these could be avoided. THINK.
Deletewhich implication!abeg go and have sit.obj is not God
ReplyDeleteYes. He is not God but remember that 1) he was instrumental in picking GEJ as Vice to Late Yar Adua, 2) he gave support for Yar Adua-GEJ to win the then election, 3) he revealed the state of health of the late president to Nigerians which made it easy for GEJ to assume the present position, 4) he stood by GEJ in the last elections etc. Although he may have his shortcomings he has played vital roles in helping GEJ and PDP. PDP should have dialogued with him (although not begging him), and stop this loss of members as if those members who are leaving the party don't matter to anything. This has strengthened the opposition party, and now, both PDP and GEJ are panicking. All these could be avoided. THINK.
DeleteYes he Is not God but the Almighty God fix his people on earth and they must be respected. Some one says OBJ did not have more than one vote but fail to realise that OBJ have many people he can influence to vote for whoever he likes. After OBJ tear his PDP card, a Gombe former SA to the governor also tear his card. Yesterday, six (6)members of National Assembly crossed to APC,Labour and Accord parties yet you said OBJ did not have more than a vote. APC now have majority in the house with 181 members while PDP has 156 members. Is that not problem to the president ? I dey laugh ooo
ReplyDelete2.44 PM. Baba is not God. Accepted but People that matters knows his importance that's why they are doing everything to keep him in the party.
ReplyDeleteThis OBJ is an old fool! He should be ashamed of himself! He ruled this nation twice and he's got nothing to show for it! I guess the once rotten PDP is gradually getting it's self back. It's baggage and thieves are practically leaving it. Let them sanitise themselves and make it better and be focused in working to make Nigeria better. Am yet to see what their opposition is offering with the likes of Tinubu as their leader.
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely a bastard, otherwise you will not ever in your wildest imagination referred to a man over eighty years, a two time president as a fool. If you have a father, I'm quite sure he is drunkard. People with proper upbringing will never insult their elders.
Deleteobj like to play god. and he is predictable. always like to destroy if he can't have his way. what a shame!!
ReplyDeleteOk. So let all disgruntled PDP members move to APC. Soon, it will be business as usual. APC has simply become PDP in another guise. People watch out
ReplyDeleteU ar a fool at fourty.
DeleteOn point! APC has been seriously contaminated,therefore can never deliver their promises.
DeleteIf the complaint has been that PDP is the problem then APC has become the new problem if half of its membership are former PDP members. After all the 5 governors and members of the legislature from their states who decamped from PDP initially called themselves The New PDP before finally decamp in. A leopard can't change its spots. A lot of change proponents are going to be mightily disappointed if government changes just like those who said " I am voting for Jonathan and not PDP" in 2011.
DeleteIf you want to know the state of a fish smell the head. The problem is not pdp but president Jonathan. Just like the problem of this nation is leadership.
DeleteI really dnt knw who gave some of our so called youths the effontary 2 insult elders irrespective of their actions. Is PDP or APC ur family's property? Be wise
ReplyDeleteAll are free to express their feelings, and aside that: there is freedom of speech, so the reasons why anybody can say anything anyhow. Even a times without knowledge of its implication.
DeleteThat is wrong. Wisdom is the principal thing. Get wisdom.
Deleteis this not he same Obasanjo hat wanted a third term. Now he wants thebest for Nigeria. I hear You. Excuse me joor
ReplyDeleteI pray buhari wins. this means that the new man in aso rock has another god father which will never be obj. his influence on president will end with gej leaving office. tinibu will take his position. looser!
ReplyDeleteIs this not the Obasanjo that wanted third term in office as president, all of a sudden he wants the best for Nigeria. Tell me was that the best for Nigeria. Abegiii excuse me joor
ReplyDeleteSee ugly man, he looks like an ape
ReplyDeleteWhen you abuse someone created by God, you are only saying that you can do better than the creator; and this is not pleasing to God. A so-called "ugly" person may be better than a handsome one. It's someone who reasons like a child that can say a thing like that.
DeleteLet's be clear here pls!Tinubu was never and will never control a retired General let alone a muhammadu buhari for that matter!politically,tinubu is behind him cos tinubu is prominent mostly in lagos but the General,The whole North!pls be guided
ReplyDeleteBaba,with all due respect, you have said nothing here. You've rather made us to understand that your PDP ward members were the Ines who decided to tear your membership card. You remain deceptive in all you do. Don't worry God has his way of taking care of issues like this.
ReplyDeleteGood exit,shame to PDP and ebele.
ReplyDeleteThose whom the gods want to destroy, they (the gods) make mad.
ReplyDeleteThis old fool will never change. Always crafty. Don't worry, your time is coming.
ReplyDeleteThis is not about being crafty. It's simple wisdom. Score them before they score you. Know that he has more information about all these matter than you do.
DeleteI will always respect Baba for one thing, he may not be 100% perfect, but he is honest, intelligent and smart. Thank you for outsmarting the sluggish PDP, which further shows their inability to succeed in any venture. You tore their card before they could expel you, well done!
ReplyDeleteWhether we like it or not, one cannot fight the truth.
ReplyDeleteGEJ is a patholigical liar and a highly deceptive individual.
GEJ secured the PDP 2011 mandate by deception (i.e. 419) in that without being compelled, he declared his intention not to seek for second term and declared with his mouth that his tenure will end May 2015 with BBC UK also carrying the story on 01/02/2011. That means, GEJ committed 419.
I have checked and confirmed via google that this story is still on BBC UK website.
Based on the promise and declaration by GEJ back in 2011, Nigerians voted for him, then suddenly his true 419 color showed. Not only did he underperformed, he also condoned corruption even more than NPN back in the 1979-1983.
Let's face the fact, GEJ belongs to the father of liars. He now leads a propaganda outfit to swindle Nigerians at all cost.
If someone is pathologically deceitful, it will dangerous to rely on any of his words or to ever take the fellow seriously or believe in the fellow in anyway.
Have you heard what he told the world, he said the Ekitigate tape is fabrication, and that is why he will not investigate or probe it. Amazingly deceitful and stupid (please pardon my French language). The simple question then is, how did GEJ determine that the tapes were fabricated in the light of all the evidences and forensic confirmation of the voices coupled with admission on part of some of the individuals involved that indeed they held the secret meeting.
Indeed, a leader may have at his/her disposal the People’s cum Nation's resources to spend (and even squander) all in the name of Projects. However, there are crucial things that a leader on his/her own part must bring to that table/seat of leadership which are namely, righteousness, honesty, integrity, character (must be a man/woman of his/her words either in secret or in the open), hatred for sin, hatred for corruption, hatred for hypocrisy, courage (not an ostrich like leader that will be busy burying head in the sand), empathy, etc.
The Bible in Proverbs 6:16-19 states that;
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Assessing GEJ on all the aforementioned shows that God can never and will never support and individual like GEJ unless God himself is a liar which can never be so.
GEJ is morally bankrupt, that is a truth that we cannot fight or else we will never be free. Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. It’s only righteousness that will exalt our Nation and I will never accept anything less from any leader voted into power.
I bet my millions on this fact that by the time GEJ is out of power, the new Government will be saddled with huge sums of promissory notes on contracts that have been implemented at ridiculously inflated prices in order for GEJ to try impressing Nigerians within a span of just few months after seeing he has been rejected by us.
GEJ is seriously mounting massive internal debt on Nigerians via hurriedly negotiated contracts at whatever cost in order to fool Nigerians.
GEJ is continuously secretly on a daily basis plunging us into more debt that it will take many generations to repay.
GEJ should have taken the noble part and sponsor someone else as PDP Presidential Candidate rather than wasting millions of precious Naira all in the name of Transformation Agenda Propaganda.
GEJ should have been a man of his words.
I'm highly impressed.
DeleteI am highly disappointed with this foolish writer writing without thinking. Let us assume a father made a promise to someone but fell sick and eventually die before fulfilling it. Does that make him a liar? GEJ was on his way to deliver. Most of his effort was sabotaged. Especially gas pipeline for power generation. So that it will appear he did not deliver. I still believed that APC members and some PDP members that pretends to support GEJ are responsible for most sabotage in the country. If Mr. President's effort is sabotaged then he did not liar. This however makes this particular writer a terrible liar writing without thinking and writing not because GEJ did anything but because he hates his face probably because of his tribe
DeleteOBJ has no shame. He was plotting to stay in power for three terms and wanted the constitution changed for that purpose. Under his watch, the serving Attorney General was assassinated in his bedroom and nothing happened. He spent $20b on NEPA, nothing happened, he allowed a political thug with the police to remove a serving Governor Ngige, and told Nigeria that a deal was a deal because Ngige refused to hand over the state allocations to Uba, refused to obey court orders, believed in serious rigging of elections with state machinery, spent billions of US Dollars on roads that did not exist, farmed out the Lagos Ibadan Road to Babalakin and the Port Harcourt Enugu Road was a death trap.....the list goes on, and Nigeria is still praising him? we have very short memory and can never learn
ReplyDeleteI think l totally disagree with you, if my memories are not failing me l can really point to one or two think that OBJ did during his tenure that has direct impact (positive) on Nigerians but am sorry perhaps am missing can you tell me just one thing that was done by this administration that has direct impact on the mases( please not achievements on paper) and don't tell me a federal road was constructed in calabar that have not being their or perhaps will never see. I mean something that touches the mases and that improves the life Nigeria citizen directly.
DeleteI completely agree with this writer. OBJ is simply terrible. Although GEJ is not perfect but he is a better person when compared to all of them
DeleteWe are all humans. No one is perfect. Remember that the ticket is between GEJ and Buhari. Not between GEJ and OBJ. However, as it is, if you must exercise your right as a Nigerian to vote you might want to vote for one of the two (i.e. GEJ and Buhari). Let's stop been sentimental but be constructive. Looking at the track record on honesty, performance, accountability and ability to deliver, who do you think should be prefered? I am not a politician but this is my opinion. Think and be objective before you elect your leader and stop sentimental arguments based on religion or tribe. We are all Nigerians, and we want a Nigerian president in the coming election.
ReplyDeleteBuhari is going to be our president.We have tried GEJ but failled , his administration is filled with high level of dishonesty,poor performance, insecurity and high level of corruption.Nigerians are encouraged to vote wisely as ur vote will surely count.
ReplyDeletePlease restrict your statement to yourself because many Nigerian still prefers GEJ to Buhari
Delete