President Goodluck Jonathan last night met with former President Olusegun Obasanjo at his Hilltop mansion in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, in an attempt to seek the latter’s support for his re-election bid.
Sources said the meeting was also put in place to find a common ground between the two leaders who have been having some disagreements lately.
Former president Obasanjo has in recent times heavily criticised the policies and programmes of the Jonathan-led administration.
Obasanjo blamed the present economic woes facing the nation on the depletion of the Excess Crude Account and the external reserves blaming it on alleged bad leadership of the present government, saying “the country does not deserve the current state it has found itself”.
He said that his administration left $25 billion in the excess crude accounts in 2007 which was shored up to about $35 billion by the Yar’Adua’s administration, while he left $45 billion in external reserve, adding that these funds had been mismanaged by the present administration.
Last night’s meeting, which started at about 9pm, ended shortly before 10pm when those at the meeting drove out of the ex-president’s residence in a convoy of nine cars.
At the meeting, according to unconfirmed sources, were two major Christian leaders – Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) General Overseer Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye and Winners Chapel’s Bishop David Oyedepo. Both church leaders could not be reached for comments last night.
It was learnt that the church leaders attended the meeting at Obasanjo’s instance. He, according to sources, insisted when the President proposed the meeting that the religious leaders must witness the discussion.
The former president, it was gathered, said the president did not honour their previous agreements, hence the need for high profile witnesses.
Other leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including National Chairman Adamu Mu’azu and former PDP chairman Senator Ahmadu Ali, were also believed to have attended the meeting.
Attempts by Dr. Jonathan to woo the ex-President, who is his political godfather, included a meeting last month with Obasanjo by some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors, led by Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio.
In that team were Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido, Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke and Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu.
Although neither Jonathan, who passed the night in Abeokuta, to enable him continue his campaign in the Southwest today – in Osogbo and Ado Ekiti – and tomorrow in Akure – nor Chief Obasanjo, was available to speak to anxious reporters after the meeting, sources said Obasanjo planned to use the talk as an avenue to ask the president some salient questions, most of which he had publicly raised, before the religious leaders.
These included the security of the country, the weeding out of his loyalists from their positions in the PDP, the matter concerning the SouthWest organising and mobilisation committee of the party, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, who the former president said he could not accept as his leader, among others.
Addressing the rally in Abeokuta, Jonathan who begged Ogun electorate to give him their mandate the second time, acknowledged the place of the state in the nation. Jonathan fought back, slamming elders who “talk like motor park touts”.