>
By Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has denied the claims that he has endorsed the South East for the presidency in the 2023 elections.
Obasanjo’s rebuttal was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, by his Media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, on Saturday.
The former president was reacting to some reports quoting him to have backed the region to produce the next president.
The report stated that Obasanjo while receiving Mao Ohuabunwa, a presidential aspirant, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Thursday, endorsed the South East to produce the next president.
According to the report, the former president stated that South Easterners could bring a lot to the table if elected.
However, Obasanjo in the statement used by Adeyemi, tackled Ohuabunwa as being the brain behind the report, saying he (the aspirant) put words into his mouth.
“If that was the way the presidential aspirant wanted to approach his ambition, such was a wrong way.
“He came here and the former president received him as a gentleman and in the spirit of his 85th birthday celebrations only for him to go and put words into his mouth. Baba is not that sort of man and if that is the way he wants to fulfil his ambition, that is a wrong way,” the statement added.