Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said President Muhammadu Buhari can seek re-election in 2019 as his constitutional right.
Obasanjo added that it is up to Nigerians to vote for him or not, and denied an online publication claiming he (Obasanjo) had, through his ex-Chief Press Secretary, Alex Nwokedi, warned Buhari against re – contesting in future.
The ex-President, who spoke to reporters in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, yesterday, through his media aide, Mr Kehinde Akinyemi, said he had not spoken with Nwokedi in the last three years.
He described the on-line report published on September 3 as “false” and those behind it as “destructive” and “enemies of democracy.”
“My belief is that democracy allows anybody, including President Buhari for that matter, to contest any election, and it is the prerogative rights of Nigerians to vote or not to vote for him.
“I have not communicated with Alex in the last three years, so how a story could be credited to me, when I did not authorised such or communicated with him in the last three years?
“Nobody has the right, not even me, to advise my children not to seek elective post. It is part of the freedom of democracy.
“I condemn in the most highest manner the story and those behind it. And for those behind it, they are simply enemies of democracy and freedom of expression,” he stated.
Obasanjo said he is still committed to the peace and progress of the country’s democratic development, which he promises will bring relief, with patience and understanding of the masses.
