Obasanjo wanted life presidency

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday stated that it was the struggle for power that caused the rift between him and former president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to him, “It was the struggle for power. But me, I was not struggling for myself; I was struggling for the people.” The presidential aspirant, who spoke at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, while responding to questions from journalists, stated that Mr. Obasanjo had jokingly told him when they assumed office that he (Obasanjo) was puzzled that Mubarak (Egyptian president), Ghadaffi (Libyan president) and Eyadema (Togolese president) were still in office 20 years after he left them in office in 1979.

Mr. Abubakar said in his response to Mr. Obasanjo he had said “Mr. President, Nigeria is a different country. It is not Egypt, it is not Libya, you just have to go.”

The former vice president stated that had Nigerians not stood up against the former president, he would have wanted to remain in office in perpetuity, like other African leaders.

“I knew Baba was not looking for third term; Baba was looking for life presidency.”

Wasted Power funds

While commenting on his involvement in the billions of dollars spent on power during the Obasanjo administration, the former vice president denied any culpability in the management of the funds.

He explained that the National Council on Privatisation under him had contacted an audit firm in 2002. The firm presented a comprehensive report on the reform of the power sector, which included establishment of small and medium power stations all over the country to be funded by the private sector.

“The minister of power submitted a different report recommending the use of N650 million to revamp the old power stations. He decided to accept the minister’s recommendation and released the money. The money went down the drain,” Mr. Abubakar stated.

“I know of a contractor who was paid $1.8 billion upfront and till today, he has not delivered. When Umaru’s administration came on board, they paid more money,” he stated, reiterating that he was never involved in the management of the funds.

I will run Nigeria like a business

While commenting on how he would generate funds for his various programmes if elected, Mr. Abubakar stated that, “I am going to run this country like a business enterprise.”

The presidential aspirant explained that the country is continually in debt as “all our capital expenditures are being funded with bonds.” He lamented that the country could not even fund the money approved for INEC and had to resort to sale of bonds for it.

Mr. Abubakar, while citing the example of Dubai, said that the private sector needed to be encouraged to invest in the economy: “you must give as many incentives as possible to encourage people to bring their money.”