The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticized former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent comments on the current administration’s leadership style.
Obasanjo had expressed disapproval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approach to removing subsidies from petroleum products and the floating of the Naira.
In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, over the weekend, Obasanjo acknowledged that while Tinubu’s policies were necessary, they were poorly implemented.
He stated, “Today, the government has taken three decisions, two of which are necessary but wrongly implemented and have led to the impoverishment of the economy and Nigerians.
These are the removal of subsidy, closing the gap between the black market and official rates of exchange, and dealing with a military coup in Niger Republic.”
In response to Obasanjo’s critique, the APC National Director, Bala Ibrahim, addressed newsmen in Abuja on Monday.
He dismissed Obasanjo’s comments, describing him as a serial critic.
Ibrahim also suggested that the former president’s critical stance might be a result of his old age.
In Bala’s words:
“As a Nigerian and someone who respects Obasanjo, I think senility is beginning to come in. Obasanjo is beginning to manifest the symptoms.
“Ever since he lost the bid to have a third term in office, he has consistently attacked every regime that comes after him. He sees himself as the only one who meant well for Nigeria from independence to date. He thinks he is the best and every other leader is bad. And this is not good for a statesman. Nobody has monopoly on knowledge or style of leadership.
“Obasanjo has been consistent in his criticisms of people in leadership positions apart from himself. So, this is not an isolated case. President Bola Tinubu is not the first to be attacked by Obasanjo. Buhari and Jonathan were also victims of his criticisms.
“He himself did not fare better when he was the leader. In fact, Obasanjo superintended the balkanization of the Nigerian economy.
“How can he say someone who is trying to put the economy on a better pedestal is not doing the right thing? I am not a spokesman for Tinubu. Even though the party has discussed him to my knowledge, I practically feel Obasanjo has erred as he has always been doing.”
