In a swift response to a letter written by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to
the National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, intimating him of the withdrawal of his activities
in the party, Chairman of the Organisation and Mobilisation Committee
for the PDP in South West and subject of Obasanjo’s latest letter,
Buruji Kashamu Saturday, accused the former President of acting out of
bitterness and irrelevance.
Kashamu in a statement noted that Obasanjo was a beneficiary of his
wealth and further described the ex-president as a hypocrite for
engaging in “wicked campaign of calumny and blackmail” against him.
Kashamu said “he called me ‘a wanted habitual criminal…for whom
extradition has been requested by the US Government…’ ordinarily, I
would not have responded to his latest cocktail of lies having
sufficiently addressed the same issue in my response to his letter to
the President only a few weeks ago. However, since he has shown that he
is too embittered to be assuaged by that response, I am constrained to
do another”.
The statement titled, ‘Re: Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s Letter to Tukur’, read in part:
“First, it is now clear to all and sundry that why I have become the
target of Obasanjo’s wicked campaign of calumny and blackmail is his
perceived loss of political relevance in Ogun State and the South West.
“In his 18-page satanic letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, I was
the other person – indeed the only one (after the President) – that he
singled out for his venomous attack. But if the truth be told, I am not
the architect of whatever political woes that he is suffering today.
Like David, I am just a tool in the hands of the almighty Allah Subhana
wa tala. I am too small to confront a Goliath like him but for the
almighty Allah who is the supporter of the suppressed and oppressed.
“In his usual hypocritical manner, he talked about not being able to
work with me because of his principles and decency. But the questions
Nigerians should ask him are: where were these principles when he used
me to fight Gbenga Daniel? Where was his self-righteousness when I took
the party structure from Daniel and handed it to Obasanjo? Where was his
decency when he brought Gen. Adetunji Olurin to me and asked that I
should roll my structure behind his governorship ambition? Where was his
morality when he introduced me to South West PDP leaders like Engr.
Segun Oni, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (Rtd) and a host of others?
“Where was his discipline when he hosted me severally in his Hilltop
mansion, taking me into his bedroom and innermost recesses? Where was
his decency when he accepted donations from me to his church and other
concerns? Where was his gumption when he mounted the rostrum to sing my
praises, praying for me as he did in May 2010 during a reception for
the former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Senator Jubril
Martins-Kuye? I can go on and on!
“Let me state from the outset that contrary to Obasanjo’s claim, I am
not the leader of the party in the South West. I am just one of the
party’s foot soldiers in the zone and it is in that capacity that I am
made the chairman of the Organisation and Mobilisation Committee for the
party in the zone. It is indeed preposterous for anyone to call me the
leader of the party in a zone that parades political juggernauts like
Chief Olabode George, Alhaji Shuaibu Oyedokun, Senator Lekan Balogun,
Senator Iyiola Omisore, Senator Teslim Folarin, Alhaji Yekeen Adeojo,
Senator Clement Awoyelu, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, Senator Bode Olajumoke and a
host of others. All these leaders know me and can attest to the fact
that I defer to them even when we disagree at times.
“Now, on the issue of my so-called indictment in the United States, I
wish to state for the umpteenth time that there is NO request for my
extradition for any offence whatsoever. I recall that in my earlier
response to him, I have challenged him to produce the request for
extradition, if there is any. Indeed, contrary to his lies that I am
wanted in the United States for some offences, the purported and
over-flogged case is that of mistaken identity, for which I had been
tried and discharged after my innocence was established by the British
courts. I am already in court in the US asking that the earlier
accusation (NOT CONVICTION) against me be quashed. That process is
ongoing”, Kashamu said.
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