A former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe has given a reason why he has been unable to respond to a veiled insult directed at him by President Muhammadu Buhari last week.
Buhari had during this year’s Democracy Day lecture delivered by former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, wondered why Orubebe was absent.
Recall that Orubebe had in February 2015 accused Jega of being partial while the latter was reading out the result of the presidential election which was live on television.
Buhari said, “Here, I must digress and raise an observation about the programme organisers because I did not see Mr Orubebe who ought to have come and listened to Professor Jega deliver his lecture; this is a major observation.
“That instance, for those of us who were lucky that there was light and we had the television to see the confrontation between Orubebe and Prof Jega, it will remain a life impression to many of us.”
But The Nation quoted Godsday as saying that he was in the village and could not respond to the president’s insult.
“I am in the village. When I come back, I am going to talk to the press
“I’m going to send him a good reply but not here, not now,” he said.