‘Ex-president not like Idi Amin,’ Okupe says

Former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, has said that his former boss is nothing like late Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin.

Okupe made the comment after former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Charles Soludo accused Jonathan of running Nigeria’s central bank like Idi Amin ran Uganda’s.

“I have read what Soludo said but sincerely I don’t see any reason to compare former President Jonathan with Idi Amin,” Okupe told Punch.

“It is a baseless point. Idi Amin was a tyrant and an all-in-one. He fought the British by deporting foreigners from his country. That is what I know about Idi Amin. How such figure relates to Jonathan is what I don’t understand.

“I honestly disagree with him because it’s like comparing another dictator like Adolf Hitler of Germany with Ghana’s President. I do not understand why Soludo is coming out to attack the former President.

“Nigerians come up with different stories depending on situations. His accusation that Jonathan ran the CBN like an ATM machine is out of point. Jonathan was a meek leader who was mindful of his actions.

“Soludo was wrong. Jonathan doesn’t fit into that type of preposterous description. He was not rash in taking decisions,” Okupe added.

Soludo had also accused Jonathan of turning the CBN into his personal ATM.