Obasanjo Denies Fleeing Nigeria, Says He’s Ready to Vote

• I believe I should be here to perform my civic responsibility

By Bennett Oghifo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described as “fake news” the trending social media post that he had left Nigeria ahead of the elections beginning today.

The former president, who showed up at his Presidential Library in Abeokuta yesterday, asked journalists “Why should I travel out of the country before the election?”

According to him, “If not for anything, I believe I should be here to perform my civic responsibility, which is to vote according to the dictate of my heart tomorrow and on the second of March.

“Those who are carrying that type of rumour or fake news; I leave them in the hands of God; I am used to that kind of thing.

“In Yoruba land, if your head is hard, you don’t have to worry yourself.

“Let anybody tell lies against you, let anybody issue fake news against you, let anybody abuse you, God will deal with them rightly and appropriately.”

A post on Facebook had accused the former president of leaving the country ahead of the elections. It said, “Breaking: Obasanjo jets out of Nigeria. He can’t even wait for the thief he is imposing on Nigerians.”