I never warned Buhari against seeking re-election in 2019 – Obasanjo

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has distanced himself from reports claiming that he warned President Muhammadu Buhari against seeking re-election in 2019.
A report credited to the former Chief Press Secretary to Obasanjo, Alex Nwokedi, on Saturday, had said the former President warned Buhari against seeking a second term.

But reacting to the report, the former President in a statement by his Media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, described Nwokedi as an “enemy of democracy” who is against “freedom of speech.”




In the statement issued on Sunday, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the former President disclosed that he had not spoken to Nwokedi in the last three years, and wondered why any news would be attributed to him.

According to Obasanjo, “My belief is that democracy allowed for anybody including President Buhari for that matter to contest any election and it is the prerogative rights of Nigerians to vote or not to vote for them.

“I have not communicated with Alex in the last three years, so how could a story be credited to me, when I did not authorize such or communicate with him in the last three years? Obasanjo queried.

He further said “not even me, can advise my children not to seek for elective post. It is part of freedom of democracy.


“I condemn in the most highest manner the story and those behind it. And for those behind it, they are simply enemies of democracy and freedom of expression.”