Following yesterday’s publication of President Goodluck Jonathan’s response to his letter, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo said today he will be making no further comment on the matter.
A statement signed by his media aide, Tunde Oladunjoye, acknowledged receiving President Jonathan’s response, followed by several requests from local and international media for his reaction.
“Baba, as he already indicated in his December 2, 2013, does not wish to make further comments beyond the contents of his last letter to Mr. President or react to the said letter/response from Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,” the statement said.
It quoted from page 14 of Obasanjo’s original letter to buttress that position. The former president wrote, “I will maintain my serenity, because by this letter I have done my duty to you as I have always done, to your government, to the party, PDP, and to our country, Nigeria.”
In his response to Obasanjo, President Jonathan said he had directed the security agencies and requested the National Human Rights Commission to carry out a thorough investigation of the criminal allegations made by the former president, and to make their findings public.
It is unclear if Obasanjo intends to cooperate with that investigation and whether he has yet been contacted to testify, or what Mr. Jonathan intends to do should he refuse.
In Jonathan’s 14-page response to Obasanjo’s 18 pages, he said he only had time to respond to the most serious of the charges which question his sincerity, personal honour, and commitment to his oath of office. Obasanjo, he said, did him grave injustice by accusing him of “deceit, deception, dishonesty, incompetence, clannishness, divisiveness and insincerity,” among others.
Mr. Jonathan described Obasanjo’s allegation that he may be training snipers to assassinate political opponents as “particularly incomprehensible.” Denying that he has ever been associated with any form of political violence since his days as a Deputy Governor about eight years ago, he challenged Obasanjo to name the 1000 people he claimed to be on a political watch list.
In a press statement issued on December 16 by his spokesman, Reuben Abati, the president called Obasanjo greedy and indecent for making that allegation, asserting that he needs no snipers as his legitimacy comes from the people.
“Those who are alleging the existence of snipers should step forward and provide the evidence or shut up forever and go down in history as spineless cowards, driven by sheer greed and indecency.”
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