The Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo said that he is vouching for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who was his former deputy, Atiku Abubakar, to reposition the country because he has learned his lesson and showed remorse.
Olusegun Obasanjo made this statement on Wednesday, January 30, 2019, at the Island Club 2019 Quarterly Business Lecture held in Lagos state.
According to him, Nigerians should not find his support for the former vice president strange going by what he said or wrote about him in the past because he believed that Atiku has the experience, the capacity and passion to move the country forward.
Obasanjo noted that Atiku had not only apologized to his political party and the nation, but had also apologized to him for the past disagreements he made as his deputy, adding that his actions have demonstrated what was expected of a committed and sincere leader by owing up to his past mistakes and showing remorse. He said:
“I have been called names because of my position on Atiku Abubakar, the Waziri Adamawa.
“Everything I have said as far as I have knowledge of Atiku, I have not retracted and I stand firmly by them because they are to the best of my knowledge true.
“And neither has what I have said and written about Buhari been controverted, if anything, they have been confirmed and proved beyond any shadow of doubt.
“But Atiku has done things which are absolutely imperative for a leader to be followed and believed.
“First, know who you are and present yourself as you are – a human being in blood and flesh and susceptible to human mistakes and human frailties.
“Don’t cover up with sanctimonious veneer of bogus integrity, incorruptibility, uprightness, goodness and false figures and statistics, all of which are contrived to deceive, to cheat, to plunder and to destroy.