Obasanjo rejects Osoba’s 2003 ‘deception’ claim, defends political strategy
.says he neither misled anyone nor acted in bad faith
By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has responded to former Ogun State Governor, Chief Olusegun Osoba, over claims that he deceived leaders of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) during the political realignments leading to the 2003 general elections, insisting that he neither misled anyone nor acted in bad faith.
In a lengthy letter dated July 23, 2026, titled “Reply to Your Inaccurate Posture: ‘How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003′”, Obasanjo described Osoba’s account, published in The Legal Observer on July 20, as “farfetched” and riddled with inaccuracies, omissions and misconceptions.
The former President took particular exception to Osoba’s allegation that he deceived Yoruba political leaders, insisting that his political engagements had always been guided by openness and national interest.
“I take strong and serious objection to your calling me a deceiver because I deceived nobody. I always presented my case and all issues as I had them and as I understood them, no matter whose ox is gored,” Obasanjo wrote.
Obasanjo argued that several political developments preceding his emergence as President in 1999 were unknown to Osoba because they were handled by senior leaders of Afenifere and the AD.
He disclosed that after his release from prison, several groups from across the country urged him to contest for the presidency, including delegations led by Lawan Katsina, the late Chief S.M. Afolabi and Chief Martins Kuye.
According to him, those consultations informed his eventual decision to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after extensive consultations with political leaders across the South-West, North and South-East.
Recalling his engagements with the late Afenifere leader, Chief Abraham Adesanya, Obasanjo said despite being repeatedly told that Yoruba people would not vote for him, he continued to maintain cordial relations with the elder statesman.
“There was no time I called on Papa Adesanya that I was not well entertained. Yet Papa stood on no vote for me and I stood on my respect and what was due to him,” he stated.
The former President defended his decision to invite the AD into what he described as a broad-based national government after winning the presidency, saying it was motivated by a desire to promote national unity rather than political weakness.
“Bringing PDP and AD to join me for a sort of national government was not out of weakness; rather, it was out of strength and for the unity and progress of the country.”
Obasanjo also rejected Osoba’s account of events surrounding the attempted impeachment of then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba, alleging instead that the impeachment plot originated from within his own administration.
He claimed that his then Vice-President had encouraged the move while simultaneously pursuing his own presidential ambition.
“The game continued to be played on with me treating it with contempt as I had committed no impeachable offence,” he wrote.
On the 2003 elections, Obasanjo disputed Osoba’s suggestion that the defeat of AD governors resulted from political manipulation by the Presidency.
Instead, he maintained that the electoral outcome reflected the political realities at the time.
“Your loss or defeat in 2003 was genuine in all the six states except the one where the figures were successfully and murderously changed,” he asserted.
The former President further accused some AD leaders of embracing what he described as an anti-democratic political arrangement allegedly promoted by his Vice-President without verifying the claims with him.
He maintained that he had consistently rejected ethnic politics, insisting that Nigeria’s presidency should never be viewed through a tribal lens.
“I have never believed in tribal politics,” Obasanjo declared.
While criticising Osoba’s interpretation of events, Obasanjo nevertheless acknowledged the former governor’s contributions to Ogun State and to the establishment of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta.
He commended Osoba for allocating the land on which the library stands, describing it as a landmark project that has benefited the state.
“The greatest service you rendered for me and for Abeokuta is the land allocated by you for Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library. It has become the most significant landmark in Abeokuta.”
Obasanjo concluded by urging Osoba to embrace humility, gratitude and enduring political relationships, stressing that politics should never destroy personal bonds.
“Politics may end, relationships may live till life’s end… there is no end to humility and thanksgiving.”
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