Police Deny Obasanjo ‘Snubbed’ Its Event

The Nigeria Police has said that contrary to reports that former President Olusegun Obasanjo stormed out of an event organised by its Zone 2 in Lagos Thursday, the police claimed that it’s not true.

In a statement Friday by Kayode Aderanti, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone II, said the reports were not true.

The police was reacting to widespread reports that Obasanjo stormed out of a capacity-building event organised by the police because the organisers were behind schedule.

The reports also said Obasanjo condemned the organisers for keeping him waiting and admonished them to always be ready before they call him to a public function.

But Aderanti said reporters at the event “misconstrued” some comments the former president made as “as a swipe against the force” even though he was only demonstrating his “usual jolly nature and world famous penchant for throwing banters.”

Although Aderanti acknowledged that the event did not kick off on time, he said the former president understood their situation and stayed behind to perform the functions delegated to him.

“Former president Olusegun Obasanjo in his usual fatherly manner and once being a uniformed personnel himself, came into the hall and still went ahead to deliver his remarks as earlier scheduled,” Aderanti said.

The police chief added that Obasanjo stayed behind at the Federal Palace Hotel venue of the event to take pictures with guests and accompanied his statement with some of the pictures.