Sunnews:

Why I remain aloof in PDP –Obasanjo
• He has lost relevance –Kashamu
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that there
is no way he will accept a man with alleged question mark
on his reputation as the zonal leader of the Peoples
Democratic Party in the South West.
He said this while reacting to last Wednesday’s apologies
from the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu;
Senate President, David Mark and Otunba Gbenga Daniel,
when Daniel formally returned to the party in Abuja,
begging the former president to return and lead them in
PDP.
Obasanjo said in a statement he issued Sunday evening in
Abeokuta that “during last week, when I was in South Africa
as the Chairman of AU Commission of Inquiry on South
Sudan and while with my fellow Commissioners, we were
deliberating on how to help that new country out of its
problem of security and violence, I received avalanche of
news and cacophony of appeals and pleadings from some
quarters of PDP leadership.
“There are misunderstandings and misrepresentations,
which some of those appeals and pleas manifested; hence
this explanation from me.”
The statement added: “Talking of inviting me back to PDP
is wrong and it is a great misrepresentation as I have
never left PDP and I will never leave PDP. I have said it
before and I will say it again, I rose to become the
President of Nigeria on the platform of PDP and for that
reason alone, I will remain a card-carrying and ward-active
member of PDP for as long as I have to be a political party
member.
“Secondly, nobody has personally offended me as a result
of my membership of PDP. If, however, anybody or group
feels offended by my continued membership, I will offer
an unreserved apology but continue to remain in the
party.
“I have had occasions to say to the President, the Senate
President and the Party Chairman separately that I have
no quarrel with any individual or group in the party. There
are, for me, issues of principle, morality, honour ,
integrity, commitment and character which are
paramount.
“For instance, as a former President of Nigeria, the
Chairman of West Africa Commission on Drug and a
member of Global Commission on Drug, I cannot accept
that the Zonal leader of my political Party and, worse still
in my zone, will be an indicted drug baron wanted in
America.
“How do I explain that to friends outside Nigeria? This is
only one of the many issues that I have pointed and still
pointing out.
“I must hasten to thank the President, the Senate President
and the Chairman of PDP with whom, at their instances,
these issues have been discussed and laid to rest. My
interest and commitment to Nigeria go beyond partisan
politics.
“I beg and appeal to those who are begging me to realize
that we must put Nigeria’s interest above politics – party or
personal – otherwise, we will all be judged at the bar of
history if not the bar of current affairs. In addition, we
must preserve, sustain and deepen democracy and
democratic practices.”
Reacting to Obasanjo’s diatribe, chieftain of the PDP in the
South West, Prince Buruj Kashamu, in a statement
yesterday, said he has become the target of Obasanjo’s
wicked campaign of calumny and blackmail because of his
perceived loss of political relevance in Ogun State and the
South West. According to him: “He (Obasanjo) is against
the second term ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan
and he had wanted to use the erstwhile National Secretary,
Olagunsoye Oyinlola; the former National Auditor, Bode
Mustapha and the ex-National Vice- Chairman, Segun Oni,
to thwart Mr. President’s re-election.
“ Contrary to Obasanjo’s claim, I am just one of the
leaders of the party in the South West. I am one of the
party’s foot soldiers in the zone and it is in that capacity
that I am made the Chairman of the Organisation and
Mobilisation Committee for the South West PDP. The party
in the zone has not been handed over to anyone but to its
relevant organs and structures. It is indeed preposterous
for anyone to call me the leader of the party in a zone that
parades political juggernauts like Governor-Elect Ayo
Fayose, Chief Olabode George, Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun,
Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, Senator Lekan Balogun, Senator
Iyiola Omisore, Senator Teslim Folarin, Alhaji Yekeen
Adeojo, Senator Clement Awoyelu, Senator Bode
Olajumoke and a host of others, “ he said.

Reacting to Obasanjo’s diatribe, chieftain of the PDP in the South West, Prince Buruj Kashamu, in a statement
yesterday, said he has become the target of Obasanjo’s wicked campaign of calumny and blackmail because of his
perceived loss of political relevance in Ogun State and the South West.