Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has told former president Olusegun Obasanjo that he (Obasanjo) is acting an opposition script.
Obasanjo in his recent 11-page letter described the TraderMoni initiative of the office of Vice President as “outrightly idiotic”.
Osinbajo in a statement by his special assistant on media and publicity, Laolu Akande said the former president is expected to commend the impact of the initiative but the opposition script he’s playing would not allow him.
He said, “Being a former president, Chief Obasanjo ordinarily should appreciate the impact of such far reaching social investment schemes, which has provided what is now the largest social safety net for millions of Nigerians, and is unprecedented in the nation’s history.
“Again, the former president’s attack on TraderMoni and the person of the Vice President is an indicator that he may be wittingly or unwittingly playing to the sinister script of the opposition party to spread falsehood and attack the social investment programmes of the Buhari administration which champions such impactful schemes, and which is now attracting the praise and commendation of Nigerians everywhere.
“It is pertinent to state that the false allegations against TraderMoni raised again by the former president is sadly a rehash of baseless claims previously made by leading chieftains of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, whose record of profligacy, corruption and mismanagement clearly show it has no agenda to uplift the common man or improve the lives of Nigerians.
“Finally, attacks such as this on a scheme that benefits the masses of our people is a direct attack on the people and this kind of conduct does not reflect very well on a former president, but is only self-denigrating and of no public value. As is already now obvious, the generality of the Nigerian people will not only reject that attack, but will also condemn its source.” he said.
He urged the former president to be far more circumspect and more public-spirited in his utterances going forward.