Trouble for Atiku as Obasanjo Reveals How Much Ex-VP Paid to Impeach Him as President
- Former President Olusegun Obasanjo fired back at ex-Ogun Governor Segun Osoba over his account of the political events before the 2003 general elections
- Obasanjo alleged that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar secretly worked to block his re-election and masterminded an impeachment plot during his first term
- The former President revealed the name of the then House of Representatives Speaker who he claimed received money from Atiku to begin impeachment proceedings
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has rejected claims made by former Ogun State Governor Segun Osoba about the political events that preceded the 2003 general elections, calling Osoba's account inaccurate, incomplete and "far-fetched", and explained how his former Vice President Atiku Abubakar plotted his impeachment.
Obasanjo issued a lengthy response on Thursday, titled "Reply to Your Inaccurate Posture: 'How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003'," directly addressing an article Osoba published in The Legal Observer on July 20, in which the former governor accused him of deceiving the Yoruba political leadership before the 2003 polls.
Source: Twitter
Obasanjo defends his record on AD governors
The former President said he took "strong and serious objection" to Osoba's allegation, arguing that Osoba was not present at several sensitive political meetings he held with the leadership of Afenifere and the Alliance for Democracy. He insisted that many of those engagements were handled directly by Yoruba political elders.
On the 2003 governorship elections in the South-West, which saw the Peoples Democratic Party seize five of the six states previously held by the AD, Obasanjo maintained that the results reflected how voters genuinely felt at the time. He also claimed that Osoba barely campaigned before the election and later apologised to Ogun State residents during a television appearance, acknowledging what he described as his own arrogant disposition.
Obasanjo's allegations against Atiku
Beyond the dispute with Osoba, Obasanjo made explosive allegations against Atiku, who is now the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), accusing him of orchestrating an impeachment plot during the first term of his presidency.
According to Obasanjo, the plot was set in motion on a Friday while he was away from office. He alleged that Atiku invited the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, the late Ghali Na'Abba, to his office and handed him N5 million to begin impeachment proceedings against him.
Obasanjo further alleged that after the impeachment bid collapsed, Atiku pursued a separate political arrangement with the six AD governors as part of a continued effort to undermine his administration and block his re-election bid in 2003.
The former President said he was sharing these details to correct what he described as a distorted account of the political intrigues that shaped Nigeria's Fourth Republic.
Source: Twitter
Moment Obasanjo teased Fashola
Legit.ng earlier reported that former president Olusegun Obasanjo has got Nigerians talking after teasing ex-Lagos governor Babatunde Fashola at a public event.
Recall that Obasanjo was president from 1999 to 2007, while Fashola was Lagos governor between 2007 and 2015, and a minister between 2015 and 2023.
During Fashola's administration as the governor of Lagos state, there was an encounter between him and Obasanjo that Nigerians cannot forget.
Source: Legit.ng
