IYC blast Obasanjo over comment on Jonathan

Former president Obasanjo has come under criticism from Ijaw Youth Council, IYC  over comment credited to him accusing the immediate past president Jonathan not living up to the expectations of his people during his time in office ( 2010 to 2015), stating that Jonathan is a failure and that would haunt the people of South-South zone for a long time.

The 78-year-old former president made the comment while responding to questions from students and other individuals at the 11th Convocation Lecture at the Benson Idahosa University in Benin City, the capital of Edo State on Saturday July 18.

Here's a statement issued on Sunday by the Ijaw Youths spokesman Eric Omare.

''The IYC considers the statement as reckless, baseless and a deliberate effort by Obasanjo to dent former President Jonathan’s towering image in the international community,'' the statement read. ''As usual, Obasanjo does not want anybody in Nigeria to be greater than he. The IYC makes bold to state that former President Jonathan’s five years in office were far better than Obasanjo’s eight years in office. If Obasanjo has forgotten, we wish to remind him that because of his reckless impunity in rigging elections, late President Umaru Yar’Adua on assumption of office had zero regard in the international community. However, President Jonathan has redeemed this badly battered image by reforming the electoral system as elections in Nigeria today are substantially free, fair and credible with the consequent goodwill it has generated for Nigeria in the international community. President Muhammadu Buhari would not have been receiving the highest respect before President Barrack Obama in the United States now if not for former President Jonathan’s efforts in reforming the electoral system in Nigeria.''