You must quit
– IBB tells Obasanjo
By KENNY ASHAKA, Kaduna and BASHIR UMAR, Abuja
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
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•IBB
Pix: Sun News Publishing |
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Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida
on Tuesday asked President Olusegun Obasanjo to vacate the
presidency in 2007.
Speaking on a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa
Service, Gen. Babangida said Obasanjo would be respecting
the wishes of Nigerians if he vacates office, in accordance
with the constitution.
The former military president kicked against third term for
President Obasanjo, saying such privilege would spell doom
for the nation.
According to him, his present stance on the issue had been
adopted by the people of Niger State before the recommendations
of the Senator Ibrahim Mantu National Assembly Joint Committee
on Review of the 1999 Constitution, which met in Port Harcourt.
Said he: "My stand on the issue is as enunciated by my
people in Niger State. Whatever their position is, definitely
is my stand on the matter of third term. We in Niger State
met and deliberated extensively on the matter. We the elders
looked into the matter critically, even before people went
to Port Harcourt. I am with the people of Niger State, with
the governor of Niger State on this matter.
“What the governor of Niger State said is the view of
the entire people of Niger State. Therefore, I support what
he said. The people of Niger State told the governor point
blank their position on the matter. I am an indigene of Niger
State, hence I am with them on this matter,” he said.
It will be recalled that Gov Abdulkadir Kure of Niger State
is one of the greatest antagonists of the third term agenda,
and he had walked out of the meeting in which the PDP leadership
endorsed the gambit.
Babangida called on members of the National Assembly to abide
by the wishes of the people who elected them and not to succumb
to intimidation and fears since history and posterity will
judge them.
“I’ll give them this piece of advice.
They should think that whatever they do in the coming days
will definitely affect them in their lifetime. They should
think that they have children. They should think of where
they come from; they should think of the home they come from,”
he said, adding: “Therefore, what I hope to see is that
everyone of them should come out plainly and state his position,
what his people want. If that is done, then, we are on the
right path of truth, but if something is done secretly or
with fear, this will not help us.”
On whether he has any regrets for the role he played in bringing
the present government to power, Babangida said he has no
regret supporting the presidency of Obasanjo in 1999, when
he and other northern elite compelled the latter to vie for
the highest office in the country. He said his action was
done out of patriotism and love for the nation.
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