Special Adviser to the Nigerian President on Media and Publicity, Doctor Reuben Abati, has further lent his weight on President Jonathan’s reply to the open letter written by former Nigerian leader, President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He said that there is something abnormal for a former president to be writing a letter criticizing the administration that just succeeded his.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on the allegation of corruption and training of snipers, Abati said that though criticism was one of the burdens of leadership, “those who criticise the administration should not do such out of malice”.
Doctor Abati said that the job of a sitting president was hard enough that he should not in any way be distracted by unfair criticisms.
Mr Obasanjo had written an 18-page letter entitled ‘Before It Is Too Late’ to the Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, raising issues related to security, politics and corruption, among others.
The letter, described as ‘weighty’, garnered mixed reactions, with the presidency describing it as ‘self-serving and highly provocative’.
In the letter, Obasanjo alleged that President Jonathan was training snipers to target oppositions, as he pursues his second term in office.
President Jonathan denied the allegation.
Critics said the writer, Obasanjo, lacked the moral standard to write such a letter while some said that the message should be considered and not the messenger.