Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has responded to allegations from former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba that he deceived Alliance for Democracy leaders during political realignments ahead of the 2003 general election, insisting he neither misled nor deceived anyone.
In a lengthy written response, Obasanjo described Osoba’s account as inaccurate and said his political engagements were always guided by openness, rejecting the claim that he deceived Yoruba political leaders during the period. He said several developments preceding his emergence as president in 1999 were shaped by senior Afenifere and Alliance for Democracy leaders rather than himself, and that his eventual decision to join the Peoples Democratic Party followed extensive consultations across the country.
He recalled his relationship with the late Afenifere leader Abraham Adesanya, saying that despite repeated warnings that Yoruba voters would not support him, he maintained cordial relations with the elder statesman out of mutual respect. He defended his decision to bring the Alliance for Democracy into a broad based national government after winning the presidency as a move toward national unity rather than political weakness, and disputed Osoba’s account of an attempted impeachment plot against then House Speaker Ghali Naabba, alleging instead that the plot originated within his own administration. On the 2003 elections, Obasanjo said the defeat of Alliance for Democracy governors reflected genuine political realities in most states, rather than manipulation by his presidency.
