Posted by in Yar'Adua's govt, Clark tells Obasanjo on
president UmarImmediate past president and chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BOT), Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has been asked to stop interfering in the administration of President Umar Musa Yar'Adua.
Making this call, a chieftain of the PDP and prominent Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, accused Obasanjo of aborting the reconciliation programme of the PDP through his dictatorial tendencies and supplanting of Chief Tony Anenih as BOT chairman. He warned Obasanjo not to take undue advantage of President Yar'Adua's respect for age to interfere in his administration.
In a terse statement read out to journalists, Clark accused Obasanjo, whom he referred to as "Mr. President Emeritus" of interfering in the nomination of ministers through the imposition and substitution of candidates or by outright rejection of some nominees based on selfish and vindictive agenda.
He accused the former president of amending the PDP constitution to perpetuate his dictatorial leadership of the party, noting that the various organs of the PDP, including the National Executive Council (NEC), BOT, National Working Committee (NWC) etc, could only be changed or dissolved at an annual or special convention of the party.
The statement reads in part: "It must be remembered that the very time Mallam Yar'Adua took over the administration of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Chirac of France had also given up power to a new president elected in France. And Mr. Chirac has since retired into the background as a former president of France. Only on June 27, 2007, Mr. Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Ireland relinquished power to his long-time friend, Mr. Gordon Brown, and has since forgotten he was ever Prime Minister of Great Britain. Immediately after Mr. Blair's departure, the next Prime Minister named his cabinet and today Gordon Brown is in full control.
"Nigerians are now worried why after one month no minister nor Special Adviser has been appointed by the new well-meaning and innocent administration of Mallam Yar'Adua. We have been reliably informed that the former president of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has not only interfered with the list of ministerial nominees, but has either imposed candidates or substituted names or has outrightly rejected some nominees, which is not the practice anywhere in the world.
"We have also been reliably informed that the opportunity created for reconciliation to win over aggrieved members of the PDP, has, because of Chief Obasanjo's dictatorial tendencies, been put on hold. His overt and covert action, his meddling and aggressive take over of the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of PDP has stalled the activities of the present administration.
"I humbly submit, as a card-carrying and foundation member of the PDP, that former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo should step down for Chief Tony Anenih until a special convention of the party is summoned for November or December. This would ensure that the PDP remained united, and provide the support required by the present administration and also enable Chief Alex Ekwueme's reconciliation committee carry out its duties.
"The former president is strongly advised not to interfere with the administration of Umar Musa Yar'Adua and should not regard the new president's respect for age and office of the former president as a sign of weakness or ineffectiveness."
Clark called on Obasanjo to respectfully retire to his Ota Farm and the presidential library built for him when he was in office and stop meddling in the Yar'Adua administration.