Obasanjo to Osoba: Your Account of 2003 Events Is False and Misleading

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has strongly rejected allegations by former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, that he deceived leaders of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) during the political events leading to the 2003 general elections.

In a lengthy response dated July 23, 2026, Obasanjo described Osoba’s account, published in The Legal Observer on July 20 under the title “How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003,” as inaccurate, far-fetched and lacking important facts.

The former president took particular exception to being described as deceitful, insisting that he had always presented issues honestly and transparently throughout his political career.

Obasanjo maintained that several key developments surrounding his emergence as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate and subsequent administration were either unknown to Osoba or deliberately omitted from his account.

He recalled that after his release from prison, various groups across the country, including Yoruba leaders, approached him to contest for the presidency. According to him, he subsequently consulted political leaders from the South-West, North and South-East before joining the PDP and embarking on his presidential campaign.

The former president said despite repeated assurances from Afenifere leader, the late Chief Abraham Adesanya, that the Yoruba would not vote for him, he continued to engage the group’s leadership out of respect and in the spirit of dialogue.

Obasanjo argued that his decision to include members of the AD in his administration after winning the presidency was not born out of political weakness but was aimed at fostering national unity and integrating the South-West into mainstream national politics.

He also dismissed Osoba’s claim that he sought the support of the six AD governors because of political difficulties, insisting that his administration already enjoyed the backing of 21 PDP governors and nine governors from the All Peoples Party (APP).

The former president further alleged that an impeachment plot against him during his first term was initiated by his then Vice President in collaboration with former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba. He claimed intelligence reports indicated that funds were provided to commence the impeachment process, adding that former President Shehu Shagari later intervened to defuse the crisis.

Obasanjo also accused his former deputy of pursuing a succession agenda that involved an understanding with AD governors to retain their states unchallenged in the 2003 elections in exchange for support in the 2007 presidential race. He said the alleged arrangement was made without his knowledge and described it as undemocratic.

On the outcome of the 2003 South-West governorship elections, Obasanjo maintained that the defeats suffered by AD governors were largely genuine, except in Lagos State, where he claimed election figures were altered.

The former president reiterated his opposition to ethnic politics, saying his philosophy had always been to build bridges across political divides through communication, tolerance and friendship rather than bitterness.

Despite the sharp rebuttal, Obasanjo ended his letter on a conciliatory note, thanking Osoba for allocating the land on which the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) was built in Abeokuta, describing it as one of the former governor’s greatest contributions to Ogun State. He said the gesture was made in the interest of development rather than politics.