Former Military ruler and President Olusegun Obasanjo have expressed his political neutrality and elder statesmanship. The former president expressed this in relation to 2023 presidential elections where he said he has no preferred candidate.
The former president, however, expressed himself as a nationalist with a national agenda, which would be made public in no distant time.
While speaking to journalists he dissociated himself from the speculation in the media that Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Part (LP) is his anointed candidate for the next year’s presidential elections.
“I do not have a special candidate. I only have a national agenda,” he told reporters at the Hill top mansion of the former Military Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, in Minna, Niger State to whom he paid a courtesy visit.
Obasanjo said he was at Minna to visit the former president who was at London for medical visit and was unable to visit him when he was there, the nation reports
Prior to his visit to the former head of state he was reported to have met Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi at State House Enugu on Saturday 27th August.
The details of the meeting were not made public but an inside source informed our correspondent that the duo’s discussion centered on next year’s presidential poll.
Despite leaving power in May, 2007 after leading the country for two consecutive terms of eight years and publicly denouncing the membership of his political party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015 and announcing his retirement from politics, Obasanjo has continued to dominate public and political discourse.
Although Obasanjo has denied having an anointed candidate, the former president has always had a preferred candidate, beginning with the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who was his successor.
Obasanjo Declared Support for Goodluck Jonathan in 2011
During 2011 elections, Obasanjo declared his support for President Goodluck Jonathan, who won the primaries against the former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Jonathan won the general elections defeating Muhammadu Buhari of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at the poll.