Former President Olusegun Obasanjo did not attend the Council of State meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
His absence at the meeting was preceded by his criticism of those running the government over the weekend in Ogun State.
The Eagle Online is reporting that the Council of State comprises the president as chairman and vice president as deputy chairman.
It is also made up of all living former Heads of State and Presidents, all former Chief Justices of Nigeria, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, all state governors and the Attorney-General of the Federation as members.
The Council of State is an organ of the Federal Government saddled with the responsibility of advising the executive on policy making.
The Eagle Online reports that former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari were physically present for the inaugural Council of State meeting convened by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday.
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It was also learnt that two former Heads of State: Generals Yakubu Gowon (retd) and Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd), joined the meeting virtually alongside the governors of Abia, Adamawa and Akwa Ibom States.
The meeting, which began at 12:35pm, addressed recent events nationwide, particularly the #EndBadGovernance protest, economic policies, food and national security.
Obasanjo, who stated recently that the demands of the #EndBadGovernance protesters are legitimate, did not attend the meeting.
Obasanjo, according to information gathered, also did not show up at the Council of State meeting conveyed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The Eagle Online recalls that the former president, while playing host to some members of the House of Representatives at his residence in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said a lot of those occupying public offices in Nigeria should be behind bars or in the gallows.
Obasanjo said that while electing leaders, character matters, a quality he said most of the public office occupants lack.
He said: “Our main problem is ourselves and until we are take care of ourselves, it doesn’t matter, we may have one term of four years one term of six years, one term of seven years, if it’s the same people and same mentality and way we do things, then it won’t change.
“Yes, the system.
“Yes, democracy.
“We have to rethink democracy.
“We have to rethink the form of government.
“But what about the character of the people in government?
“With all due respect, most of them should be behind bars, some should even be in the gallows and that is the truth.
“Now if these are the people that are ruling us then what do you expect?
“It doesn’t matter whether you or whatever you make it, it will not work.
“So the point is the character of the people that are coming to the government.
“Their attributes, the sort of people they truly are.
“So, we need to really think about how we select leaders.
“What should be the character of a leader we select?
“What should be their track record?
“Where should we find them?
“Are they role models?
“And I think those are the first things we have to think about.”
