Apologize to Nigerians for using $16b to generate darkness – Presidency knocks Obasanjo

The Presidency has fired back at former President Olusegun Obasanjo following his critical remarks at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University.

Obasanjo had described the 2023 general election, which saw President Bola Tinubu emerge victorious, as a “travesty.”

In response, Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Public Communication and Orientation, accused Obasanjo of mischief and labeled his administration as one of the most corrupt in Nigeria’s history. Dare specifically pointed to the infamous $16 billion power project under Obasanjo, alleging that it failed to deliver results and left Nigeria in darkness.

Dare dismissed Obasanjo’s claims of fighting corruption as “laughable” and questioned his sincerity in making such accusations.

“We all know what happened under his watch and how, up till the present moment, there has been no explanation as to how he wasted a whopping $16b in generating megawatts of darkness across the nation. But that is not even the issue,” he said.

He recalled that democracy suffered mortal wounds under his watch only capped by his murderous rage for an ill-fated 3rd term.

Successive administrations struggled to clean up the mess Obasanjo left behind, which Tinubu is now making progress with, he said.

The presidential aide said the former president lacks the moral right to condemn any government, urging him to apologise to Nigerians for not laying the foundational infrastructure Nigeria needed to advance.

He said the Tinubu administration will stay focused on bringing relief to Nigerians through the reforms instituted for a better Nigeria.

He urged the former president to take time off this habit of pulling down leaders, especially his successors, and try to interrogate himself on how he has contributed to the parlous state of the Nigerian nation which Tinubu is now battling to put back on the track of development.