The Presidency has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of attempting to whitewash his controversial democratic record, following his criticism of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Reacting to Obasanjo’s remarks at the birthday colloquium of former Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, special assistant to the President on Social Media, Olusegun Dada, on his X handle said the former leader was trying to rewrite history and portray himself as a champion of democracy, despite his own administration’s record of constitutional violations and political intimidation.
“It is evident that Chief Obasanjo is seeking to cleanse his past by attacking President Tinubu’s democratic credentials,” Dada said. “But Nigerians remember too well the undemocratic actions that defined his presidency.”
Obasanjo had decried what he described as the illegal use of power under President Tinubu, saying democracy was not about “power grabbing” and then asking the victims to go to court.
His comments were widely interpreted as a reference to the crisis in Rivers State, where the President reportedly suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the State House of Assembly under emergency rule.
Dada, however, pushed back strongly, accusing Obasanjo of double standards and reminding the public of the multiple occasions the former president exercised executive power in ways widely condemned as unconstitutional.
“This is the same Obasanjo who declared a state of emergency in Plateau and Ekiti States, suspending elected governors and legislatures without due process,” Dada noted.
“He masterminded the impeachments of governors using federal might, often through kangaroo proceedings that were later overturned by the courts.”
The presidential aide further cited Obasanjo’s attempt at a third term in office, which was rejected by the National Assembly amid widespread public outcry, as well as his role in the controversial 2007 general elections—widely regarded as the most flawed in the country’s history.
“Obasanjo cannot now act as if he was a passive observer in the democratic decline he helped engineer. His actions between 1999 and 2007 set dangerous precedents for the very things he now condemns,” Dada said.
He added that under Obasanjo’s watch, several opposition governors in the South West were removed through what many still describe as rigged elections, leaving only Lagos under the control of the opposition party at the time.
“This attempt to recast himself as a moral compass on democracy is not only disingenuous but also insulting to the collective memory of Nigerians who lived through his era,” Dada stated.
While defending President Tinubu’s actions in the current Rivers crisis, the Presidency maintained that the intervention was necessary to safeguard democratic institutions from further breakdown caused by internal disputes and constitutional violations.
“The government will not allow any political crisis to undermine the rule of law or the integrity of democratic governance,” Dada affirmed.
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