Obasanjo dismisses speculations about postponing incoming elections

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed speculations that the 2023 general elections may be postponed due to the protests staged in many states over scarcity of the newly redesigned naira notes and fuel.

He said this on Wednesday when he received members of the Board of Trustees of the African Democratic Congress at his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library penthouse residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The former president noted that Nigeria was in an interesting period, calling Nigerians to take the elections with all the seriousness it deserves.

The BoT members were led by their Chairman, Dr. Mani Ibrahim Ahmed, the national chairman of the party, Prof. Ralph Okey Nwosu and the former Presidential aspirant of the party, Chukwuka Monye.

He said, “We cannot take it (election) any less important than those people (international community).

“We are in an interesting period in Nigeria. In less than three weeks, we will be going to the poll. Well, I hope nothing will intervene against that. In less than three weeks, we will be electing a leader that will pilot the affairs of Nigeria for the next four years from May.

“And all of us in Nigeria, again, as I have said to you, early this morning, I have been in Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire from the beginning of the week, from Sunday and they are as concerned what happens in Nigeria as every Nigerian should be.

“Last night before I left Abidjan, President Ouattara (Alassane) was telling me the position in West Africa that Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are vying for and he said to me, ‘Well, we are putting it on hold until after Nigeria’s election’. So even for them, Nigeria’s election is of importance. And I believe that for us who are directly involved, we cannot take any less important than those people.

“Your party (ADC) is one significant party in existence in this country and your voice matters. Therefore, I understand why you are here and we are here also as a family, we are all in Nigeria; we are a family, Nigeria family, and therefore when we gather together, we can also talk and discuss as members of the same family – Nigeria family for what is of concern to Nigeria.”