FORMER president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has been expelled from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after tearing up his party membership card in protest of the way President Goodluck Jonathan was going about being re-elected.
Over recent weeks, Chief Obasanjo has been a fierce critic of President Jonathan, especially since he postponed Nigeria's forthcoming elections by six weeks. Presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives polls were moved to March 28 from February 14, while state governor and house of assembly elections were shifted to April 11 from February 28.
Following the postponement, the government has been widely criticised at home and abroad for what has been described as an attempt to truncate democracy in the country. Chief Obasanjo decided to wade into the dispute by describing President Jonathan as someone engaged in do-or-die politics that is hell-bent on staying in office at all costs.
Chief Obasanjo had likened President Jonathan to former Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo, who kept on postponing elections until he thought he could win and was ultimately forced from power after losing. He declared that the postponement was a big shock and surprise to him, adding that the Independent National Electoral Commission was forced to shift the polls by a government insistent on holding on to power at all costs.
Chief Obasanjo said: "We must all feel concerned before democracy is killed. The observable and what would appear to be happening is that the President has a grand plan to ensure that by hook or crook, he wins the election or if it all fails, they scuttle things and create chaos, confusion and unpleasantness in the whole country.”
Following Chief Obasanjo's comments, he and the comments have been involved in a war of words over recent days, with presidency officials denying President Jonathan has any such sinister plans. Following the continued disagreements, Chief Obasanjo tore up his PDP membership card, declaring that the party no longer has anything to offer.
In a swift response, the Ogun State chapter of the PDP has expelled the former president and one-time chairman of the PDP's board of trustees from the party. It is not yet clear yet what the party's headquarters in Abuja will do about the expulsion.
