By Adesina Soyooye
Minister of Works, Raji Fashola, has hit out at former President Olusegun Obasanjo over Obasanjo’s public letter to Nigerians, and especially, the Youths, on New Year’s Day.
In the letter, Obasanjo officially endorsed Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, as his chosen candidate for the Presidential seat in 2023, and urged Nigerians to vote for him. He chose Obi well ahead of his Vice President when he was in office, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and Bola Tinubu, a former Lagos State two-term Governor, of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Obasanjo, also, wrote off the APC Government of President Muhammadu Buhari and described the experience of Nigerians under it as “jumping from frying pan to fire.”
Since the endorsement of Obi, Obasanjo has come under strong Media attack by the Presidency, the APC and the PDP. He has been called names, and his endorsement of Obi dismissed as worthless by the APC.
On Wednesday, January 4, it was the turn of Fashola to take on Obasanjo. And he did.
Answering a question on the slow pace of work on the Lagos-Abeokuta Road, and when it will be completed in an interview with the BBC Pidgin, Fashola threw a brushstroke at Obasanjo.
The Minister said the road is being done. Then, referring to the years of the PDP in power, Fashola said for 16 years, they did not do the road. He said the money budgeted for the road, they “swallowed it.” And from no where, he threw a punch at Obasanjo.
He said: “The one wey dey write letter, the road wey lead to im house. E no do am.”
In August, 2022, Tinubu had led a high profile delegation to Obasanjo’s Abeokuta home to seek his support and endorsement of him.
For the records, Obasanjo was Nigeria’s President for eight years out of the 16 years Fashola was referring to, in a PDP Government.
