FORMER military president, General Ibrahim Babangida, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of not abiding by his promise to maintain his neutrality among aspirants jostling for the highest political office in the country, just as he said that it was too early to predict the outcome of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primaries that have not been held.

Babangida spoke, at the weekend, through his campaign organisation, IBB Presidential Campaign Organisation, while reacting to the endorsement and support given to President Goodluck Jonathan by the South-West zone of the PDP to enable him (Jonathan) to contest the forthcoming presidential election.

Former President Obasanjo had led the PDP leaders and chieftains, including the Speaker, House of Representatives, sitting and former governors of the party, to back Jonathan’s aspiration to become Nigeria’s president beyond 2011, at a meeting held at the weekend in Ibadan by the zonal caucus of the party.

The former military president, who is also in the race for the top job in the country, in a statement issued by his campaign organisation, signed by its director, media and communications, Prince Kassim Afegbua, and made available to the Nigerian Tribune, noted that the reported endorsement of the undeclared candidature of President Goodluck Jonathan by the South-West PDP and non-PDP members did not reflect the actual permutations on the ground.

The campaign organisation said it wished to inform General Babangida’s party members and would-be delegates to the 2010 presidential primaries that it was too early in the day for anyone to declare the results of an election that had not been held let alone determine who held the ace.

According to Babangida, the South-West is  a politically sophisticated and enlightened zone, comprising distinguished Nigerians, who are  familiar and at home with the political dynamics of the country, saying it was, therefore, unlikely that such distinguished, enlightened, civilised and politically conscious people would reportedly concede to the endorsement of an aspirant that had neither declared nor made public his intentions.

“We suspect that someone is trying to be smart by half,” the former military president said.

Commenting on Obasanjo’s role in the exercise, Babangida disclosed that the former president, who is the chairman, Board of Trustees of PDP, had repeatedly said that he and other party chieftains would maintain their neutrality to all aspirants but would exercise their right to vote at the primaries for an aspirant of their choice.

He said it beat his imagination the recent reported endorsement of President Jonathan by Obasanjo, declaring that this  contradicted his earlier stand to maintain neutrality on the choice of aspirant.

“As one of the leaders of the party, a former president and elder statesman, we expect that his word should be his bond. We will not be drawn into any argument with those who easily suspect the political moves of former President Obasanjo, but we insist that a true leader should stand by his word,” Babangida counselled.

Babangida declared that the reported claim that President Jonathan had 18 states backing him and he had just 12 states did not hold water, pointing out that: “Those figures are not only disputable but unrealistic in view of the fact that most incumbent state governors have not declared their position.”

“It is, therefore, too early in the day for any political observer to draw conclusions on that basis, particularly on a delegate election that is about to commence, except that the public is being made to understand that the forthcoming elections, despite repeated assurances of credibility, would go the way of other previous elections.

“We believe very strongly that former president, General Ibrahim Babangida, remains a major contender thus far amongst those who have boldly declared their intentions on the ticket of our dear party, the PDP.

But former spokesman to President Obasanjo, Dr Doyin Okupe, said the decision of the leaders of the PDP in the South-West to adopt President Jonathan was taken democratically by all the who is who in the party.

Dr Okupe said in a telephone interview on Sunday that the claim by the camp of General Babangida that the decision did not reflect the opinions of the true members of the PDP in the South-West was incorrect.

Okupe spoke just as a source in the Jonathan’s camp insisted that the camp of the former military ruler was bellyaching because it was becoming apparent it was losing out of the 2011 race.

The source said that while IBB was no longer sure of winning up to 30 per cent of the PDP delegates during the primaries, his hope of taking over the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) was also fast evaporating by the day.

“We are aware of the frustrations of the IBB camp. The frustrations are apparent because the PDP ticket has slipped off their hands, while the hope of clinching the ticket of the ANPP through the backdoor is fast evaporating.  The ANPP leaders and the true members are resisting the attempt daily. So the only hope they have is to throw mud. It is unfortunate,” the source said.

Okupe, who was present at the South-West meeting, said “everyone who is who in the PDP in the South-West was there at the meeting.

“The claim by the Babangida people is incorrect. I was one of the earliest callers at the meeting. I arrived there at 10.30 a.m. and I was there till the end. All the who is who in the South-West zone was at the meeting.

“The zonal chairman of the PDP was at the meeting, four of the South-West governors were physically present, all the PDP state chairmen were present, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate Leader, majority of our senators and local government chairmen of the party in the zone were there. Everybody who is somebody in the PDP was at the meeting.

“The governors not only campaigned for Jonathan at the meeting, they also endorsed the communiqué,” Dr Okupe said.

Okupe added that elders of the party, including Chief Richard Akinjide and the former governor of Oyo State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo, were also present at the meeting.

“There were those who supported Babangida at the meeting and some people also supported Atiku Abubakar. But we decided to take a common decision and we all took a solid decision to support President Jonathan,” Okupe added.

Meanwhile, the eldest daughter of former military president, Hajiya Aisha Mahmuda Babangida, has organised a prayer seeking God’s intervention for the success of her father’s ambition.

The prayer, which was conducted at Tsunami area in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, was attended by, at least, 20,000 women from over 20 Islamic organisations.

Aisha, who is the wife of the Zamfara State governor, appealed to women to assist by offering special prayers wherever they were for the success of her father’s presidential ambition.

She also used the forum to distribute food items worth millions of naira to the needy.

According to her, the role played by her mother during her father’s regime as the military president towards enhancing the economic status of women in the country could not be overemphasised.

She said many Nigerians, particularly women, were unable to get access to Western and Islamic forms of education in schools due to the cultural barriers in the northern part of the country.

Source: http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/10374-obj-shocks-me-on-jonathan-ibb-he-is-only-bellyaching-jonathans-camp-ibbs-daughter-organises-prayer-for-dad