Apparently doing a comparative analysis of two Nigerian presidents who travelled out of the country more often, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s travel record pales in comparison with former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s.
Answering questions from journalists yesterday over the claim that Buhari had engaged in frequent travels, Oshiomhole described such statement as “incorrect.”
He referred to a book that the late Gani Fawehinmi wrote in which he detailed the number of days Obasanjo spent in foreign lands during his eight-year tenure.
“Saying President involves in frequent trips is not correct. I remember very well, there is no president in recent Nigeria’s history, since 1999 till now, that traveled out of Nigeria as much as former President Olusegun Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo did.
“If you check through your newspapers and play back some of your electronic coverage, you will find where Gani Fawehinmi (of the blessed memory) took time to calculate the number of days President Obasanjo was out of Nigeria, visiting foreign countries.
“He even tried to calculate the number of hours he was spending on air comparing to the number of hours he was spending on Nigeria’s soil. So, how can you that was already an adult when Obasanjo was President suggest that Buhari travel more often than other person? That is not correct,” he said
On the statement credited to the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay, that he had advised him (Oshiomhole) to be less combative, Oshiomhole said he would not join issues with the “respected elder.”
However, he said he intended to meet with Sagay to clarify his position on the series of allegations over the crisis in the party and Edo State.
It would be recalled that Sagay, in his recent interview said alleged that Oshiomhole’s aggressive approach cost the APC some states in the country.
He said the APC chairman had ignored his advice on the need to be less combative in his approach to dealing with people.
“I have advised Oshiomhole rather unsuccessfully to stop being combative, to stop punching and all these aggressive behaviour.
“In a leadership position, you need to stoop to conquer, you need to be restrained. Even when people are wrong and you want to correct them, you need to show that you are not after humiliating them and that you will work with them to correct things; not to be aggressive, threatening and engaging in pugilistic method.
“I told him this but he ignored it. Because of his aggression, we have lost quite a number of states,” he said.
