Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has vowed not to return to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Obasanjo made the vow In Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, after the National Chairman of PDP, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, and National Working Committee (NWC) members visited him on Saturday.
The former President, who ruled Nigeria from 1999-2007 on the PDP platform, told Ayu and NWC members that only God will help them shoulder their responsibilities.
Obasanjo further told the leaders of the opposition party that he won’t return to PDP after he tore his membership card in 2015, noting that he is only interested in what is good for Nigeria and anybody who wants to have his advice.
He said: ”I have been with the party right from inception. Whatever I do in my own life, because I became president on the platform PDP, PDP will continue to be part of the history of my life. But having said that, the day that my ward decided to tear my PDP card was the day I ceased to be a member of PDP and that day I vowed that I will not be a member of any political party again, but I will remain a statesman in Nigeria, in West Africa, in Africa and indeed in the world.
“So, I thank you very much for coming and you are living up to your word because immediately after you were given this appointment, this job, you called me, in fact you sent a message and I called you and you said you will see me and I said I will see you any time and any day.
” I’m happy that you are here and as I jokingly said, when you said you will see me, I thought I will be probably one or two, but I really didn’t realise that your visit will be turned to an invasion.
“You are all welcome, because I’m among friends. What can I say or do with Sule or Adamu Waziri here with you or even Mimiko?
“Chairman, let me say this, I want to specially pray that the responsibility that is put on your shoulder you will be able to carry it, God will help you carry it.
“Your case is like the case of Idi Amin. Idi Amin came to me and he said ‘my brother, you have Africa load and it is on your shoulder, I pray God will help you carry Africa load’.
“Iyorchia, you have PDP load with Nigeria load and it is only God that can help you to carry this load which of course, I believe if God gives you a responsibility, He will also give you the wherewithal to be able to carry that responsibility.
“I retired 14 years ago and I remain retired. I will remain retired by the grace of God.
“I want to emphasise that I’m no longer in partisan politics and there is nothing that will bring me back to partisan politics. But I will always be interested in what is good for Nigeria and anybody who wants to have my advice, I will distinctively give it in the best interest of Nigeria and in the best interest of Africa.”
In his reaction, the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, commended the former President for the warm reception, saying the golden era of PDP was when Obasanjo served the country as President for eight years.
Ayu said: “As soon as I emerged as the chairman of the party, it was inevitable that I have to come here.
“Sir, we thank you for the service you rendered and the great work you have done in the PDP. As the first president, your period as president on the platform of PDP is seen as the golden era of the PDP because not only did you grow the economy to be the biggest in Africa, you were able to eradicate Nigeria from slavery by negotiating and cancelling so much of our foreign debts that would have made it very difficult to run the country.
“By the time you left office, Nigeria was totally set free, direct foreign investment was on the increase on a daily basis, we were respected in international community, every where we went.
“I remember I accompanied you as your Minister to a number of countries, Germany and India I saw the respect they accorded you in India and I was very proud to be a Nigerian.
“Today, unfortunately, we don’t have the same recognition because what we have falls short of leadership that Nigeria deserves.
“Apart from infrastructural intervention which you did, most of the institutions, some of them !”being used today to hunt people like EFCC, the ICPC and so on and so forth you actually put them in place.
“Even though you retired from partisan politics, partisan politics will never retire from your blood because you want the right thing done and since you want the right thing done, for life you will remain the emeritus member of the PDP.
“You cannot build a house and leave it to collapse. You throw a challenge to me that if I have been there from the beginning why have I not done anything, may be I was doing something but it was not good enough, we will continue to contribute our own quota. We will continue to come to you. So, I want to plead with you, please don’t be tired of us as we come knocking asking for your advice, asking for wisdom because the word of elders is the word of wisdom and there is no leader here in this country than President Olusegun Obasanjo. We appreciate you and we will do everything to rebuild this country.”
The PDP leaders who visited Obasanjo to discuss party matters and solicit his support for the 2023 general election include former Ondo Governor Dr. Segun Mimiko; former Cross River Governor, Donald Duke; his successor, Senator Liyel Imoke; PDP 2019 vice presidential candidate Dr. Peter Obi; former Jigawa Governor Sule Lamido; former Minister of Police Affairs Adamu Waziri; former Kogi Deputy Governor, Yomi Awoniyi; former Oyo Deputy Govenor, Taofeek Arapaja, among others.