TheCable

Itse Sagay, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of hypocrisy for asking President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election.

In a lengthy “special statement” released Tuesday, Obasanjo urged the president not to seek re-election, saying he has performed below par since assuming office.

Obasanjo said under Buhari’s watch, poverty and insecurity have worsened in the country.

He also accused him of poor economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, and condonation of misdeed.

Reacting, Sagay said Obasanjo lacks the moral standing to ask Buhari to not seek a second term in office, owing to his own alleged pursuit of a third term in office.

Sagay described Obasanjo’s letter as “insulting” and asked him to “learn to respect other people”.

The senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) told The Nation: “I saw Obasanjo’s comments and I could not believe my eyes, that a man who tried to get a third term is discouraging someone else from getting a second term. It doesn’t make sense.

“I think Obasanjo should try and respect other people. He has achieved a lot. He is a great man and I respect him. But he should learn to respect other people and think of them as being, at least, as good as himself.

“I think it is insulting for a man who wanted third term to tell somebody else not to want second term. It is most inappropriate, and for a former head of state to say so is most improper.”