The relationship between the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and President Goodluck Jonathan may have come under severe threat.

Saturday Punch gathered from authoritative sources on Thursday that Obasanjo, a former President of the country who had hitherto supported Jonathan to run for the presidency next year, was considering a change of allegiance in favour of another presidential aspirant from the northern part of the country.

It was learnt that Obasanjo had started yielding to pressure from the camp of the presidential aspirant who before now had persistently mounted pressure on him for his support.

A reliable source, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said that Obasanjo had decided to shift his allegiance to the presidential candidate from the North, contrary to the impression he has been creating in the public lately. It was further learnt that the former President has held three secret meetings with the presidential aspirant who is also pursuing his ambition on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The source said the relationship between Obasanjo and Jonathan came under threat after some appointments the President made recently.

The former president, who is widely believed to have some influence on Jonathan, was said to be uncomfortable with some of the appointments,including that of Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd) who was appointed as the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee.

The relationship between the two retired generals had fallen apart when Obasanjo revoked one of the oil wells allocated to Danjuma by the regime of the late dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha.

It was further gathered that Obasanjo introduced some companies to Jonathan for some high profile jobs in the oil sector, which were not honoured.

Saturday Punch gathered that for some undisclosed reasons, the President did not accede to the demand of the PDP BOT Chairman who was said to be unhappy with the development.

It was learnt that an angered Obasanjo had commenced discreet discussions with the candidate.

Obasanjo was said to have told his close confidants that he was making a U-turn on Jonathan because the President was not listening to him. The source added that the new beneficiary of Obasanjo’s support had continually reminded him of the relationship between them and how his efforts had culminated in his emergence as the President in 1999.

It was gathered that Obasanjo was reconsidering the aspirant’s plea on the premise that he owed him a lot and would not lose anything if he threw his weight behind him.

However, this turn of event was said to have created a big rift among key players in the Obasanjo camp.

It was learnt that while people like Dr. Doyin Okupe are seriously opposed to a deal with Obasanjo’s new favourite candidate, politicians like the Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, are irrevocably committed to the aspirant’s agenda.

President Jonathan’s Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters and Co-ordinator of his presidential campaign, Senator Muhammed Aba-Aji, however, said he doubted the claim that Obasanjo could sway his support for Jonathan in favour of another presidential aspirant.

He said, “I doubt it very much. Obasanjo is supporting us 100 per cent. He is 100 per cent pro-Jonathan. He is committed to the Jonathan project. In fact, we are relying on him to deliver the five states in the South-West and other states to us. He is our leader; we also rely on his influence in some other states. He is more than committed. It is mischief makers who are at work. We should discountenance false rumour. It is baseless. In fact, our opponents are already jittery because of the level of acceptance that the President has garnered across the country and beyond.”

But speaking with one of our correspondents shortly after returning from Kenya on Friday night, Obasanjo said it would be inappropriate

for him as the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP to support any of the presidential aspirants of the party before

the party’s primaries.

He said he would only

be able to lend his open support for the party’s candidate after the

party’s primaries.

The former president, who spoke through his Media Consultant, Mr.

Adeoba Ojekunle, said, “The BOT chairman is the father of all party members and

aspirants in the party. It is inappropriate for the BOT chairman to

support any of the contestants in the party. The issue is not who he

supports but who the party chooses. He can only begin to support the

party’s candidate after the party’s primaries. By the way, the party

has not elected its candidate and so, how can we begin to speculate

who the BOT chairman is supporting? “In any case, the leaders of the South-West zone have not spoken on

their stand on who to support for the PDP presidential candidate. The

BOT Chairman is the father of everybody in the party.”

http://www.punchontheweb.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100828404879

Why is this not shocking?

I said it before (when Obasanjo was asking him to run) that Obasanjo will ALWAYS protect Obasanjo's interests -(security interests), no matter how many he has to betray to get it.
Remember Odili in 2007?
Obasanjo would never support anyone who could lose, thereby exposing him to probes when another president settles in.
It is all about keeping Obasanjo out of jail.

This is getting more and more interesting and inriguing!
We are watching

Seriously, i think Jonathan needs to take a course in Yoruba politics. That will reveal a lot of things to him. Let OBJ keep feeding him with lies and let him continue digesting them.

Jonathan because of his eagerness to thwart laid down process in an attempt to achieve a premature ambition will find himself in a corner he will never believe. i wont say too much.

OBJ (and in deed other old bald heads) held sway in eras when election rigging was the order of the day. He is less relevant in present dispensation. Nigerians are ready to challenge anybody who wants to rubbish the country. I'm happy votes will be counted on the spot, therefore everybody will defend his/her vote.

We shall see.

This is another made up news.

OBJ will NOT back IBB

anyone who has any knowledge of OBJ's politics will know that he will never be attracted to IBB.

OBJ's support is key within PDP. I do not know who he will support, but it is easy to guess those OBJ will not support. It will never be IBB or Atiku.

Plz people remember the quote "if the east by omisson or commission is allowed to seccede the west will seccede"

This was used by yorubas to make the east to take the plunge, today they are using on the Ijaws , am begining to see that betrayal is not only in some people's blood but in their DNA and this betrayal is against their fellow southerners.

Now i hope GEJ is happy now, This is what happens when you surround yourself with enemies. If he's smart he'll look to make nuhu ribadu his Vp. He's surrounded himself with northerners and yorubas and left his brothers alone.Good next thing he will say its the igbo man's fault. If majority votes in the SW go to IBB then it his clear that OBJ and the SW governors rigged the polls. The meeting with the SW governors with Obj was just some regular meeting.smh

Dreeeeaaaammmzzzz!!! How they wish!! This article is so cheap. OBJ will never support IBB. The article is sponsored by IBB. The goal is to try to puncture Jonathan's strength politically. Everyone knows that OBJ is Jonathan's backbone, so if you can seperate them Jonathan becomes naked.

The article sha just goes to show the strength of OBJ in the scheme of things toward 2011. Actually, the only reason IBB would not be president is because OBJ would not allow him.

OB has already declared "operation totality" just a few days ago. He wouldn't change his mind all of a sudden.

Jonathan is very smart, he has already done his political calculations as follow.

1) Try his best to secure PDP ticket during primary.
2) Put a creadible man in charge of inec, who will play no game with PDP.
3) Get Nigerians to love him through constant communications(facebook), good projects(power project), etc.
4) If he fails to secure PDP ticket, he decamps to another party(ACN 4 instance).
5) ACN gives him the ticket with Ribadu as his vice.
6) Nigerians, whom have fallen in love with him(facebook, power projects effort, others), will vote 4 him en-mass.
7) Because the credible man in inec will not allow PDP to rig, Jonathan wins.

This, i suspect, is his game plan. I hope ACN will be wise enough to position ACN to take advantage of this PDP's impending mistake. Babangida will never win a general election in Nigeria without PDP rigging the election, which i know, Jega cannot give to them.

Nlanders, let's analize the above 7 points. What do you think?.

chyz:

Now i hope GEJ is happy now, This is what happens when you surround yourself with enemies. If he's smart he'll look to make nuhu ribadu his Vp. He's surrounded himself with northerners and yorubas and left his brothers alone.Good next thing he will say its the igbo man's fault. If majority votes in the SW go to IBB then it his clear that OBJ and the SW governors rigged the polls. The meeting with the SW governors with Obj was just some regular meeting.smh

Jealousy. . .

~Bluetooth:

Jealousy. . .

Hey its the guy who thinks Peugots are from Northern nigeria 

Abeg dont' the derail this nice thread with your ignorance,let's meet on the other side if you know what i mean.

~Bluetooth:

Abeg dont' the derail this nice thread with your ignorance,let's meet on the other side if you know what i mean.

WHOA! So you're a gay? You come online in front of all these people that u chat with everyday and you say some gay shyt like that to me?? . You are definitely a [size=15pt]gay[/size].

You guys are Jokers.

To go against IBB you need a man Like OBJ. Forget about politics of tribe (i know that will be hard because IBB thrives in this type of politics). IBB has massive support of theiving Generals. The "Oil Generals" really suffered under OBJ. People that say Obj brought Nigeria back are probably right because the Generals lost out from oil money and so did their followers. Hence they started to use gorrilla war fare to have control of the oil. Go and check who trained your so called militants. Go and Check who gives them very EXACT Intel.

I have the view that to fight against evil people you cant be passive. I remember when OBJ give power to civillians back in the 80s he took a stand of non interference. All the money he saved the politicians squandered it. The soldiers in the barracks saw this and decided that they must intervene. I remember former president of one of the southern Africa saying to OBJ not to reliquinsh power to the Civillian. some "Yoruba"(I mean the Parasitic elite yoruba) dont like OBJ because of AWO. People said because AWO said he will investigate the Military(very laughable). Ask yourself the question how many days did OBJ stay in power then. Awo was a tribal politician that was involved in the planned creation of Oduduwa State. The war that OBJ had just finishing fighting had AWO innitially in it. Awo was a politician and one of the mistake Ojukwu made was to Play war Ally with a Politician. It had nothing to do with the YORUBA being cowards.

I know that Jonathan is still a Good President but if he is to Lead us we need him very strong. He needs OBJ behind him because there are still reminants of POLITICAL SOLDIERS IN THE ARMY.

OBJ will Neve dump GEJ because He has à Big hold on him.
IBB on the other Hand has its Hand Filled with Foot soldiers everywhere in the Country.He made à Big mistake by romancing Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State whom He later realised is more à liability than an Asset.
Abiola(or rather June 12) will always stand against IBB in SW and OGD is being despised for His failures.
OBJ is also Not loved in Yorubaland but He will use everything He has including blackmail to install GEJ.OBJ needs à stooge to Protect His looted Funds and GEJ definitely fits in with his spineless Disposition towards important issues.
GEJ will Win the election if He PlayS His Cards well.I just Hope He will Pick Ribadu As His VP.
IBB will Loose all Round.

OBJ TERGAT] his interest, interest of the Yoruba’s, Hausas and that of his colleague

@Olafolarin
OBJ is still the poorest Nigerian President, where is the loot. He spent money On Energy ask why Goodluck and Yaradua are afraid of putting a cent in Nigerian power project.

Go and Check the people involved in Petrol oil lifting? Go and Check out how much is paid to the oil marketers. Go and check out who is chopping the money spent on Subsidy? Go and check how much money was released to the Governors and what they use the money for. Governors are so rich that you wonder.

Go and look for any account with billions that bears OBJ names I will withdraw anything I have said. There must be somebody that saw him steal the money. There must be somebody that OBJ cooperated with him. There must be a friend that did it with him.

Just tell me or name one very Good Friend of OBJ who really is OBJ's Friend. Its is the Hatred of the Yoruba Parasitic Elite. The theiving Yoruba elite that only see leading a country as a Chieftancy title. Thanks to God for continous weakening of the Fascist elitist Yoruba Hegemon. We in the New Nigeria must do away with criminal tribalistic tendencies.

God Bless Nigeria

The story is fake. Obj would not be supporting either IBB or Atiku and it will take a miracle for him to swing behind Goje (and risk another Yar Adua style frying).
Notin de happen.
If there are issue between Jonathan and Obj, they are likely to be resolved, both sides would have too much to lose.

Beaf:

The story is fake. Obj would not be supporting either IBB or Atiku and it will take a miracle for him to swing behind Goje (and risk another Yar Adua style frying).
Notin de happen.
If there are issue between Jonathan and Obj, they are likely to be resolved, both sides would ha too much to lose.

You are no better than average nigerian politician in any way.For you to start recognizing obj relevance just because another corrupt politician who happens to be your tribe man is involve means that in priciples and morals,you are a part and parcel of nigerian doom generation plague with chronic short sightedness.

redsun:

You are no better than average nigerian politician in any way.For you to start recognizing obj relevance just because another corrupt politician who happens to be your tribe man is involve means that in priciples and morals,you are a part and parcel of nigerian doom generation plague with chronic short sightedness.

This is very foolish and doesn't deserve any further comment, except for one important point; I am not from Jonathans ethnic group, I am not even from his state. Fool.

Beaf:

This is very foolish and doesn't deserve any further comment, except for one important point; I am not from Jonathans ethnic group, I am not even from his state. Fool.

Your foolishness is quite glaring.You are just another zombie nigerian.

redsun:

Your foolishness is quite glaring.You are just another zombie nigerian.

If you don't like Obj, go to Ota and tell him (if you've got the balls that is).
Don't expose yourself to ridicule on NL; being quick to speak is the sign of a lack of wisdom; afterall, you just claimed I was from Jonathan's ethnic group (why you made that statement is best left to you); and I have just told you also, that I am not even from Jonathans state and am certainly not from his ethnic group. Your judgement is piss poor.

Yes, I support Jonathan like most sensible and balanced people. If you don't like it, go and hang.

Beaf:

If you don't like Obj, go to Ota and tell him (if you've got the balls that is).
Don't expose yourself to ridicule on NL; being quick to speak is the sign of a lack of wisdom; afterall, you just claimed I was from Jonathan's ethnic group (why you made that statement is best left to you); and I have just told you also, that I am not even from Jonathans state and am certainly not from his ethnic group. Your judgement is piss poor.

Yes, I support Jonathan like most sensible and balanced people. If you don't like it, go and hang.

People like you makes me sick,people that are afraid of true change and true beginning.

Just because jonathan is your tribes man makes him worthy in your eyes,even when a sensible child in nigeria knows that he is just as corrupt,visionless and dubious as obassnjo.With your type,nigeria will remain in a vicious circle of backwardness.

redsun:

People like you makes me sick,people that are afraid of true change and true beginning.

Just because jonathan is your tribes man makes him worthy in your eyes,even when a sensible child in nigeria knows that he is jusst as corrupt and dubious as obassnjo.With your type,nigeria will remain in a vicious circle of backwardness.

What is all this, did I steal your babe? 

You keep claiming that me and Jonathan share the same ethnic group, but thats only because your brain is bloody weak and you've been called out.
For the umteenth time; [size=21pt]"I am not even from Jonathans state and am certainly not from his ethnic group. Your judgement is piss poor.

Yes, I support Jonathan like most sensible and balanced people. If you don't like it, go and hang."[/size]

Seriously, dude, you are very shallow. Can we now move back to issues in the thread?

LOL

Beaf has just invented a new psychiatric guage

If you support Jonathan then you are "sensible and balanced"

If you don't then you must be " . . . . . . . . . . "? (Beaf please fill in the blank space)

lol