Nelson A.Osuala[ 7 August 2016] 01:52PM
The former president of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo has in strong terms denied a media report which asserts that he made a surprise appearance at the PDP committee meeting which held in Abuja, at the Yar'Adua Center on Friday, 5th of August.
According to a reactionary statement released yesterday Saturday, Baba (as he is fondly called) argued contrariwise to what was earlier reported, that he had reconciled with the PDP but rather the fact that he attended a function at the Yar'Adua Center which was supposedly organized by the Senate Committee Chairman on Agriculture, Sen.Abdullahi Adamu.
Obasanjo therefore denied the earlier report and considered it as misguided, misconstrued as well as a deliberate attempt to bring him to disrepute.
Laying credence from our source, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo reacted to the photonews story, which purports that he was "spotted" at a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) event centre in Abuja.
According to our source, Baba considered such story as targeted to provoke anger and embarrassment. He therefore reiterated in strong terms that he has told the world that he has quit partisan politics and that is final.
He further asserts that any attempt by anyone to drag him back to party politics will always fall to futility.
In other to clear the air and put things in perspectives, Obasanjo revealed that his visit to Abuja was by the invitation of the Commodities Association Stakeholders.
According to him, he was invited to participate in the "Zero Hunger Nigeria" event at the Centre' and that he immediately moved to the venue of meeting having arrived at the centre by 10.00am.
He informed that it was only a few minutes into the meeting that,he recognized the presence of some personalities who walked up to where he was seated. Recognizing them to be politicians, they exchanged pleasantries, and then walked out again from the meeting.
It was therefore on the premise of the foregoing that Baba denied the photo news in circulation, which claimed that he was spotted at a political party event.
For him, such allegation is therefore mischievous as well as misinformed. He criticised the journalists responsible for such misleading information and counselled that such ought to have gone further to ascertain his actual destination in among the number of venues at the centre rather than taking photograph of him alighting from his vehicle and concluding on the strength of such.
Surprisingly, his excellency note that even the controversial photograph of his image was actually taken while on his way out of the Centre after the programme had come to a close.
In his words as paraphrased,
This is the no doubt an act of irresponsible journalism, which should be investigated and proper sanction meted out on anybody involved which will serve as deterrent to others who may want to be used either by omission or commission to misinform the public on such detrimental issues.
Nelson A.Osuala
Is a Blogger & the Associate Editor of negroidhaven.org
(negroidhaven)
