The Presidency on Sunday said President Goodluck Jonathan was favourably disposed to mending fences with former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Mr. Ahmed Gulak, made this known on Sunday just as The PUNCH gathered that the feud between Jonathan and Obasanjo was adding to the worries of the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The sour relationship between the duo became public knowledge in December 2013 when Obasanjo wrote a letter titled “Before it is too late” to Jonathan.
In the letter, he accused the President of condoning corruption, training snipers, putting some persons on a watch list and engaging in other acts capable of destroying the country.
Jonathan replied Obasanjo openly, saying his letter was designed to incite Nigerians against him.
There were however speculations that some former leaders had approached the President and Obasanjo to reconcile them.
Although Gulak, in an exclusive interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja, said he was not aware of such moves, he added that there was nothing wrong with it.
He stated that in spite of the exchange of letters between the two leaders, Jonathan still held Obasanjo in high esteem.
The presidential aide said the President did not only see Obasanjo as a leader but also as his father.
He said the President had nothing against Obasanjo because he believed strongly that only God was perfect.
The Presidential aide said, “We are not aware of the reconciliation moves but there is nothing wrong with it. In fact, it is a good development because our party, the PDP, is always open to reconciliation.
“Only God is perfect. If in the wisdom of the nation’s elders, there is a need for reconciliation, there is no problem.
“Let me assure you however that President Jonathan has nothing against Chief Obasanjo. He considers the former President as a leader and a father, that is why he calls him Baba.
“President Jonathan has highest respect for Chief Obasanjo. The recent exchange of letters does not mean that he does not hold the former President in high esteem.
“Nobody is perfect. No leader is perfect, it is only God that is perfect. There is no alternative to peace in the country and in our party.”
However, a media aide to Obasanjo, Mr. Tunde Oladunjoye, said on Sunday that the ex-president was not at war with Jonathan.
