FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday said that he was tricked to attend a reception organised for former chairman of the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), Chief Olabode George, who was recently released from prison.

Obasanjo, who is the chairman, Board of Trustees, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), added that his attendance at the reception was in error and described it as celebration of criminality.

The former president said this while speaking with newsmen shortly after attending a lecture organised to mark his birthday, held at his Hilltop Mansion, Abeokuta.

Obasanjo stated that the ex-convict did not “conduct himself properly” when he was serving as the chairman of the NPA.

He admitted that George went to prison for criminal offence which should be condemned.

“I was not part of the celebration of Bode George's release. And let's get a few things right. When Bode George went to prison, the first thing that I did was to find out things from his lawyer, what really went wrong. What the lawyer told me was not what I found eventually. And what I found out eventually was that as far as I am concerned, Bode George did not conduct himself properly in the task that he had been given.

“And having done that, both as an elder statesman and elderly man to Bode George and as his senior in the armed forces and as his former head of state, I have my job in putting him right.

“He sent a passionate message to me from prison, urging me to attend a family church thanksgiving. I believe that any family that is giving thanks in the church or in the mosque whether it is for marriage, for burial, house warming or christening a child and he invites me, if I am able to go there, I will go there. But when I got to the church, the atmosphere I found was more than a family affair.

“I even took the opportunity to ask the state PDP chairman that, is this a PDP affair? He told me it was not a PDP affair because I don't see why PDP as a national party, as a party that is trying to form a government in Lagos State, as a party that formed government at the national level and in at least 27 states in the country, should be celebrating criminality.

“When I asked the state chairman, he said 'well; you know Area Boys do hijack this thing.' I said if it is Area Boys, leave it to the Area Boys and not to PDP.

“The reason Bode went to prison should be condemned by everybody and I have condemned it, but he did not go to prison for political offence. If he had been sent to prison for political offence, then he comes back, all his political associates may get round him and PDP must do something noble and wholesome, but in this case, PDP as a party must dissociate itself from celebrating criminality,” he said.

On the crisis within the party and the recent pronouncement of the Federal High Court in Abuja that Chief Adetunji Olurin was the gubernatorial candidate, Obasanjo noted that the party in the state remained one big family.

He said that he had informed Olurin to constitute reconciliation committee to settle all misunderstandings within members of the party.

He said: “Don't forget that PDP is a family; there may be a little misunderstanding but we have to go to court for adjudication. The court adjudicates but as soon as possible, the family should come together and forge ahead.

“PDP nationally is a family; zonally is a family; state-wise is a family; local government wise, is a family; so the members in Ogun State should put behind them whatever might be their bone of contention. I am the chairman of BOT of PDP.

“As the chairman of BOT, I am supposed to be the conscience of the party. Whatever be the rift, I am supposed to find amicable settlement. I have done it in other states, why not in my state?

“I have told Olurin to extend his hand of fellowship to other people. I have told him to set up a reconciliation committee even before the court ruled.”