Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was down with cold weekend and missed the controversial national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Abuja due to the condition, an aide has said.
One of Mr. Obasanjo’s aides and loyalists,Tunji Akinosi, told a national newspaper in Abeokuta on Sunday via telephone chat, that it would have been “odd and embarrassing” for the former president to be at the convention with the condition.
Mr. Akinosi, a former commissioner in the state under the Gbenga Daniel, added that Mr. Obasanjo had really wanted to attend the event. According to Mr. Akinosi, the former president had lamented that it was the first time he was missing the convention since the party was formed.
“You know it would be odd for him to be there and be uncomfortable as a result of the cough and cold. If he does that, it is people who will still blame him for not staying back. So, his reason for not attending was on medical grounds,” Mr. Akinosi said.
He added that many members of the party in the state took time to visit the former president at his hilltop home in Abeokuta. He advised party members to remain loyal in spite of the ongoing crisis, expressing optimism that all will be well within the troubled fold.
He said the former president followed the convention on television.
The former commissioner added that the former president was optimistic that PDP was still a formidable party in spite of all odds and called for harmony at all levels.
Source: http://news.naij.com/45841.html
