Obasanjo Lied, He Told Me He Wanted Third Term

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, representing Abia North, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of lying about never seeking a third term in office, insisting that the former president personally informed him of his ambition to extend his stay in power.

Obasanjo had, during the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation’s Democracy Dialogue held in Accra in September, dismissed claims that he sought a third term.

“There is no Nigerian dead or alive that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term. I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it,” the ex-president said.

But Kalu, while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, countered the ex-president denial on the alleged third term agenda.

“With due respect to President Obasanjo, what he said in Ghana was a naked lie, a naked fallacy. Many people who were part of that period are still alive — David Mark is alive, others are alive. They know the truth,” Kalu said.

The former Abia governor alleged that Obasanjo invited him to the Presidential Villa during his administration to discuss the plan to amend the constitution and enable him to seek another term in office.

“He invited me to the Villa and told me about the third term. Senator Uche Chukwumerije brought ₦50 million, which they shared, and they asked me if I would take as a governor,” Kalu claimed.

“I said no — go and give it back. Even the national security adviser (Nuhu Ribadu) would know Obasanjo was lying; he was at the centre of it all.”

Kalu added that his fallout with Obasanjo began after he opposed his third term agenda and informed several world leaders about the alleged move.

“My quarrel with him started when I told Presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and George Bush of the United States that Obasanjo was running for a third term,” he said.

“I even told Nelson Mandela, may his soul rest in peace. They all confronted him. I don’t know why Nigeria should be built on lies by statesmen.”

He further claimed that while Obasanjo had succeeded in convincing some governors at the time, a few of them, including himself, stood firm against the move.

“He had already convinced some governors, but people like me and a few others said no. I am a committed Christian. I took an oath with the Bible to serve for only eight years, and that was the end of it,” Kalu said.