A meeting between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and select Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) governors at his residence, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Thursday ended with the former President saying Nigeria is in a bad situation.
The governors prostrated and begged the former President not to abandon the party especially as the 2015 general elections draw closer.
There has been a cold war between President Goodluck Jonathan and Obasanjo over the latter’s harsh criticism of present government policies and what he described as inaction over critical issues.
The Presidency countered, saying no Nigerian leader since independence had done as much as Jonathan. Aso Rock was however made to swallow its pride and send emissaries to the retired Army General.
Obasanjo, who spoke to reporters after meeting with the governors, said the situation of the country is bad, but added that it is “not irretrievably bad if there the will and courage to do the right thing at the right time.”
The former president said he deliberated with the governors on “issues affecting the country – the security and the economy among others.
He added that as Nigerians, “we have no other country except Nigeria.”
Obasanjo said one does not have to be World Bank economist or the International Monetary Fund(IMF) expert to discern that the nation’s economy is ailing and require the will and courage by the managers not only to tell the nation the truth, but also the way out.
Among the governors who met Obasanjo were Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom).
The governors were led to the meeting by Akpabio, who is the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum.
They arrived Obasanjo’s Presidential Hill -Top Estate by 12:40pm, and met for over three hours with their host.
