Mr Haruna Okatahi, Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Youth Caucus, has advised former President Olusegun Obasanjo to channel his suggestions to President Muhammadu Buhari privately instead of making it public.
Okatahi, in an interview with the Armada News , on Wednesday in Abuja, said Obasanjo as an elder statesman, should always seek appropriate means of communicating to the presidency rather than going to the media.
Obasanjo in a statement on Tuesday titled “The Way Out: A Clarion Call for Coalition for Nigeria Movement”, advised Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019.
Obasanjo also slammed Buhari for his “poor understanding” of Nigeria’s social-political dynamics, saying his leadership had widened division and inequality in the country.
Okatahi commended Obasanjo for making good observations on certain national issues that needed President‘s attention.
The youth leader, however, urged Obasanjo to respect the constitutional rights of President Buhari on seeking re-election.
He said that only Nigerians could decide whether Buhari deserves a second term or otherwise, stressing that by the nation’s constitution, Buhari was qualified to seek re-election.
Okatahi said the achievements recorded by Buhari’s Administration would clear all doubts about whether he deserved second term or not.
The APC youth leader said that the Buhari-led administration had recorded tremendous progress in the area of security and the war against corruption which was being applauded worldwide.
He said that before the inception of Buhari administration, Nigerians were living on their nerves and the entire country was almost barricaded because of the daily Boko Haram attacks on innocent people.
Okatahi said with the better equipped and more motivated security personnel under Buhari, the Boko Haram had been crippled that they no longer had the capability to take and occupy territory.
He recalled that President Buhari campaign was on three broad areas–fight against corruption, security and economic diversification.
According to him, Buhari is making steady progress on the three focus areas and he has not finished his four years term.
“Therefore, it is very unfair for Obasanjo to score Buhari low in these three focal areas because he still has time to complete his tenure.”
Okatahi advised President Buhari to empower APC chieftains by giving them more appointments to enable them to contribute meaningfully to the success of his administration.