Olusegun Obasanjo

The Presidency on Tuesday accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of lying over claims that he was not invited to activities organised to mark  June 12 as Democracy Day which also featured the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari for second term.

The Presidency in a statement by Shehu Garba, the Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on media and Publicity said contrary to the claim of the ex president, he was invited for the event.

The invitation letter written by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, according to the Presidency was delivered to Obasanjo’s address in Abeokuta and was received by his secretary identified as Taiwo Ojo.

See the full statement of the presidency below.

The former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, owes an answer to Nigerians on his absence from the 2019 Presidential inauguration and Democracy Day celebration because the claim that he was not invited or he did not receive an invitation cannot be sustained.

Since the claim was first made, elements in the polity that have deliberately and consistently been trying to lead the country toward polarization have cashed in on it, throwing all manner of rubbish at the Buhari Presidency.

The fact remains that the Secretary to the Government, Boss Mustapha wrote on May 16th, 2019 to:

“His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, Former President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Agbe L’Oba House, Quarry Road, Ibara, P.O.Box 2286, Abeokuta, Ogun State.”

The invitation was sent to Chief Obasanjo’s known forwarding address, detailing out all the major events, and the invitation cards were delivered by a reputable courier company as confirmed.

The receipt of the letter and invitation cards as delivered by the courier company was confirmed by Mr. Taiwo Ojo, the long standing Personal Secretary to the former President.

If, in the circumstance, Chief Obasanjo did not see or receive the letter and invitation cards as published by Vanguard newspaper (Page 16, June 16, 2019) and several other news platforms, then the former President needs to find out what is happening with his own secretariat.

The government office did its job diligently and should not be blemished for no reason.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)

June 19, 2019