Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has disowned his wife, Taiwo Obasanjo, after the latter apologised to traditional rulers in Oyo State over his husband’s statement ordering the monarchs to stand and greet Governor Seyi Makinde at a project commissioning in the Iseyin area of the state.
A video of Obasanjo, who spoke in Yoruba language, surfaced on the internet on Friday, September 15, 2023, lashing out at the traditional rulers for not rising to greet Makinde.
Taiwo, in a statement issued on Sunday, September 17, apologised to the monarchs, saying the manner in which Obasanjo addressed the traditional rulers was “not acceptable to God, to the Yoruba race and to the throne of Kingship and it must not be repeated again by any leader in Yoruba land.”
However, the former president, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, on Monday, said Taiwo is neither his wife nor a member of his family.
Akinyemi quoted Obasanjo as saying he remained firmly, unapologetically, and uncompromisingly on the position that a governor holds the highest office in the state and should be given the due respect as enshrined in the constitution.
He stated: “The attention of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has been drawn to a statement purported to be issued by a wife of the President with the photograph of one Ms. Taiwo Martins as the author of the statement.
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“For the records, Ms. Martins has two children, Jonwo and Bunmi, for Chief Obasanjo but to say emphatically that she is not his wife nor a member of the Obasanjo family.
“Her posturing as Chief Obasanjo’s wife is false and that of an impostor. Nobody makes statements on behalf of the Obasanjo family except Chief Obasanjo or people delegated by him to do so.
“It must be noted that the state of health of Ms. Martins is known to all and sundry and whatever she says or does has nothing to do with Chief Obasanjo as an individual or the Obasanjo family as a whole.
“However, the former President has affirmed that he stood firmly, unapologetically and uncompromisingly on the position that the governor of a state holds the highest office in the state.
“By that position, the respect, protocol and dignity that must be given to the office by virtue of the constitution must not be denied. To do otherwise is to deride the office and the constitution.”
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