TRIBUNE
The Presidency has dismissed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the political crisis in Rivers State, calling him the “grandfather of hypocrisy.” In a statement by Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Segun Dada, the Presidency accused Obasanjo of attempting to rewrite history and exonerate himself from Nigeria’s democratic struggles. The statement highlighted Obasanjo’s own controversial actions while in office, including declaring a state of emergency in Plateau and Ekiti States, suspending governors and state assemblies.
Tinubu’s aide argued that Obasanjo’s past decisions contradict the democratic principles he now claims to defend. He pointed out that Obasanjo removed Governor Joshua Dariye in 2004 for failing to control religious violence, without any direct allegations against the state assembly. In contrast, Tinubu’s government, he claimed, is holding those directly responsible for the Rivers crisis accountable. The Presidency insisted that Obasanjo lacks the moral authority to lecture on democracy, given his own history of political control and suppression.