Obasanjo missed PDP convention due to “cold”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was
down with cold weekend and missed the
controversial national convention of the
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Abuja
due to the condition, an aide has said.
One of Mr. Obasanjo’s aides and
loyalists,Tunji Akinosi, told PREMIUM
TIMES in Abeokuta on Sunday via
telephone chat, that it would have been
“odd and embarrassing” for the former
president to be at the convention with the
condition.
Mr. Akinosi, a former commissioner in the
state under the Gbenga Daniel, added that
Mr. Obasanjo had really wanted to attend
the event. According to Mr. Akinosi, the
former president had lamented that it was
the first time he was missing the
convention since the party was formed.
“You know it would be odd for him to be
there and be uncomfortable as a result of
the cough and cold. If he does that, it is
people who will still blame him for not
staying back. So, his reason for not
attending was on medical grounds,” Mr.
Akinosi said.
He added that many members of the party
in the state took time to visit the former
president at his hilltop home in Abeokuta.
He advised party members to remain
loyal in spite of the ongoing crisis,
expressing optimism that all will be well
within the troubled fold.
Mr. Akinosi also said the decision of some
governors and former vice president,
Atiku Abubakar, to create a separate
faction of the party, at the convention on
Saturday, caught Mr. Obasanjo unawares.
He said the former president followed the
convention on television.
Mr. Akinosi said that Mr. Obasanjo
described PDP as a sleeping lion, saying
that whenever a sleeping lion wakes up
its roar will always be effective.
“Even a dead lion is scary to approach,”
Mr. Akinosi noted. He added that Mr.
Obasanjo assured the party members
who visited him that he would be a light
after the tunnel.
“He told us not to leave the party,and we
should not go anywhere. He said PDP is
like a sleeping lion, that is scary to move
closer to,and by the time it wakes up,its
roars always vibrate.”
On speculations that it was President
Goodluck Jonathan who asked former
Ogun Sate governor, Mr. Daniel to move
to the Labour Party, Mr. Akinosi said
when the visitors asked Mr. Obasanjo for
clarification, the former president said
that Mr. Jonathan had denied
encouraging Mr. Daniel to do so.
The former commissioner added that the
former president was optimistic that PDP
was still a formidable party in spite of all
odds and called for harmony at all levels

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2014 World Cup qualifier: Malawi in financial mess

Image
Malawi might be unable to prosecute their final Group F 2014 World Cup qualifier against Nigeria on September 7 due to lack of  funds. The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) told media that the Flames require about $121, 212 to travel to Nigeria . FAM had spent most of its annual allocation on participating in the regional Cosafa Cup held in Zambia as well as World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Namibia. “We don’t have the required amount of money. Government has indicated the funds that were used during World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Namibia were part of the 2013/14 national budget,” FAM general secretary Suzyo Nyirenda was quoted by Nyasatimes.com. “We were not aware of this arrangement, we have been taken unawares because, to us, expenses that were incurred prior and after Kenya and Namibia games were settled with funds allocated within the 2012/13 financial year which ended on June 31, 2013.” He, however, point...
Read more

28 worshippers killed in Anambra stampede

Image
NO fewer than 28 persons, who attended the weekly crusade at the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke, in Idemili North local government area of Anambra State, lost their lives during a stampede at the end of the ceremony in the early hours of yesterday. The crusade, organized by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obinma for prayers, healing and spiritual retreat, attracts thousands of people, but the one that was held yesterday on the Feast of All Saints turned tragic. An estimated 100,000 worshippers reportedly attended the crusade because, besides coinciding with the Feast of All Saints, it was also the first Saturday of the month. Apart from the dead 25 whose bodies were said to have been deposited at Immaculate Heart Hospital and Maternity, Nkpor and Charles Borromew Hospital, Onitsha, several others, who sustained various degrees of injuries, are receiving treatment in various hospitals in Onitsha. *The Adoration Ground after the stampede. Governor Peter Obi, who attended...
Read more

How to safely observe sunday solar eclipse

Image
curled in by : Salma n femi Ahmed It is never safe to look directly at the Sun except during a total eclipse; a partial or annular eclipse, even when the Sun is mostly covered, can still cause permanent eye damage, even though you might not feel any discomfort. There is no pain when the retina is being burned, and the resulting visual symptoms do not occur until at least several hours after the injury has occurred - by which time it is far too late. Looking at the Sun through any kind of optical aid (binoculars, a telescope, or even a camera's viewfinder) is extremely dangerous, and can cause permanent blindness. Sunglasses do not provide anything like adequate protection, as they do not block the wavelengths of light which are likely to damage your eyes, or reduce the intensity of the visible light sufficiently. Viewing the Sun indirectly, by projecting its image onto a screen, is far safer. You can make a projector with a simple pinhole. However, never look through the proj...
Read more