I’ll Not Talk On Polls Shift Until I Return To Nigeria – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday declined making any comments on the implication of shifting the general elections, saying he can only do so after hearing from both parties about the shift.

The former president, who spoke from Nairobi, Kenya, where he launched his new autobiography, My Watch, said the decision to shift the polls by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was made when he was outside the country.

Speaking with the BBC Hausa Service from the east African country, Obasanjo said: “I would not want to talk about (election) postponement. The time they were discussing about postponement, I was not in Nigeria. I was in Germany.

“Until when I return to Nigeria, and get information about what happened from both parties, that is when I would talk about the issue. But I will not talk about it, I will not talk about it”, said the former Nigerian leader, who spoke in Hausa.

However, when he was asked about the possibility of ending insurgency in Nigeria within the six weeks window given by the service chiefs, which prompted the shift in dates for the polls according to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, Obasanjo expressed doubts about the effectiveness of whatever strategy to be adopted in crushing the sect within such a short period.

“In five years, Boko Haram overstretched the government. I wonder what government would do within six weeks. Let us wait and see, and watch what government has differently now to tackle Boko Haram. Let us wait and see what will happen”, he said.