by Azeez Adeniyi

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has said he advised ex-President Goodluck Jonathan against appointing Diezani Alison-Madueke as Minister of Petroleum Resources.

Obasanjo said this in a book titled ‘Against the Run of Play,’ written by the Chairman, Editorial Board of ThisDay, Olusegun Adeniyi.

Obasanjo said the appointment of Alison-Madueke as Petroleum minister showed him that the Presidency was too big for Jonathan.

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“He (Jonathan) gave me the impression that he was not going to give her the portfolio (petroleum ministry), but at the end, he did and we can see the consequences. He, of course, knew what he was doing,” he stated.

The former President also said he begged the prominent Northerners to allow Jonathan contest in the 2011 presidential election.

Obasanjo stated, “I saw the emergence of Jonathan as an opportunity to solve the problem of minority agitation. The three majority ethnic groups in Nigeria can always sort themselves out, but not so for the minority.

“A good example is my state here in Ogun. Despite the best intentions, nobody from Ogun West has been able to become governor because of this minority issue and it will take a conscious effort to make it happen. So, it was in that contest that I had to plead with prominent people in the North to allow Jonathan run for a term.”